Lawsuit Filed by Family of Man in Washington Fatal Shooting
The family of a man police fatally shot during a purported drug investigation is suing the Vancouver Police Department and the Washington Department of Corrections.
Carlos Hunter, 43, died after law enforcement officers stopped his SUV on March 7, 2019 to execute a search. Officers used a stun gun on him and shot him 16 times, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
The officers told investigators that Hunter had reached for a gun. The lawsuit questions whether he reached for it.
The lawsuit paints the officers as reckless and negligent and that the officers’ actions defy departmental policies and escalated the encounter.
The lawsuit is the second in a month to accuse police in Southwest Washington of a pattern of negligent policing leading to violence. The family of Jenoah Donald filed suit against the Clark County Sheriff’s Office for his shooting death during a 2020 traffic stop.
The Hunter lawsuit names the city of Vancouver, the state corrections department, and Vancouver officers Dennis Devlin, Colton Price and Branden Schoolcraft, and corrections officer Rees Campbell.
The city of Vancouver, the Vancouver Police Department and the Washington Department of Corrections weren’t immediately available for comment.
The shooting was declared justified by the Clark County Prosecutor’s Office.