PORTLAND, Ore. — The family of Terrell Johnson, a 24-year-old man who was shot and killed by Portland police in 2017, has agreed to settle with the city of Portland for $600,000, according to the Oregon Justice Resource Center.
Police said Ofc. Ajir Samson shot Johnson after he approached him with a knife during a foot chase near the TriMet Flavel Street Transit Station on May 10, 2017.
A grand jury cleared the officer who fired his weapon, saying he acted in self-defense, the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office announced in June 2017.
Johnson's mother, Alicia Johnson, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in 2019. The Oregon Justice Resource Center (OJRC) nonprofit group represented her in the case.
The OJRC argued Johnson was in a mental health crisis at the time of the shooting, and that the officer who shot him failed to follow multiple Portland Police Bureau policies when he chased after him.
"Terrell was killed which need not have happened and the response to that by those responsible has compounded the harm done," the OJRC said in a news release.
The group said the settlement was reached in court in May and is expected to be approved by the city council this summer.
