This week, officials in a southwestern county in Washington state agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle a federal lawsuit filed by the family of a Black autistic man who was fatally shot by a deputy during a 2021 traffic stop.
In 2022, the family of Jenoah Donald filed a complaint against Clark County and several deputies and sheriff’s office employees, alleging wrongful death, assault and battery, negligence, and deprivation of civil rights.
Donald was pulled over by Clark County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Boyle in February 2021 for a faulty taillight, according to the family’s lawsuit, Tacoma News Tribune. Shortly before the traffic stop, deputies were alerted to “suspicious activity” near a reported “drug house.”
Two deputies eventually joined Boyle at the stop, one of whom later stated that they believed they saw a “weapon” in Donald’s car, which turned out to be a screwdriver. Donald was unarmed.
According to the lawsuit, when Boyle asked Donald to get out of the car, he did not immediately respond. Boyle then attempted to pull him out of the car, punching him in the nose in the process.
As Boyle struggled with Donald, the car’s gears shifted, causing it to lurch forward. According to the complaint, Boyle reacted to the gear shift by shooting Donald twice. One of the bullets hit Donald’s head.
He died a week later in the hospital.
He was thirty years old and had left behind three children. His family members stated that he was on the autism spectrum and had dyslexia and ADHD.
In July 2021, the Clark County Prosecutor’s Office conducted an independent review that determined Boyle acted legally and that Donald’s vehicle could be considered a “weapon” after shifting gears and rolling forward.
The family claimed in their lawsuit that the entire stop was illegal, citing a 1999 Washington Supreme Court decision that found it unconstitutional for police to use a traffic stop as an excuse to investigate suspected criminal activity, according to KOMO.
The complaint also claimed that deputies used excessive force against Donald, citing Clark County’s alleged history of failing to properly train officers on non-lethal de-escalation techniques.
The county reached a settlement with Donald’s family just weeks before a civil rights trial in Seattle was scheduled to begin in June.
In a statement regarding the May 14 settlement, Clark County spokesperson Joni McAnally told local news outlets that the county “continues to deny liability for this unfortunate incident.”
Sheriff John Horch also issued a statement, saying, “We never want to see an incident that results in another person’s death, and any loss of life is tragic.” In this situation, deputies responded in accordance with their training and state law to protect themselves and others. Both the independent investigation and the independent prosecutorial review concluded that the decision to use deadly force was justified and made in good faith under state law.
Boyle is still employed at the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
Donald’s mother, Sue Zawacky, told KGW, “I don’t believe he should be still employed, along with other officers involved in these shootings.”
Zawacky added, “I still miss [Donald].” I would still prefer to have him here over any amount of money, and that is the truth. I became grateful that his children would be taken care of and could attend college. But do I believe that there is accountability? No. “I really don’t.”
“Clark County has a choice,” family lawyer Mark Lindquist stated. “They can either continue to pay millions of dollars to victim families and their lawyers, or they can improve their training and their culture.”
