Quanice Hayes: Portland to Settle Police Shooting Death Lawsuit for over $2 Million

Photo: Steven Hayes

The city of Portland has agreed to settle a wrongful death and excessive force lawsuit brought by the family of Quanice Hayes, a Black teenager who was shot and killed by a police officer in 2017.

The agreement comes just more than four years after Hayes was killed.

The case is settling for $1.5 million, plus attorneys fees and costs, bringing the city’s total payout to just under $2.1 million. It’s among the largest amounts the city has paid out for a police officer killing someone. Portland City Council is expected to finalize the settlement at its March 10 meeting. As part of the agreement, the city admits no wrongdoing.

Hayes was 17 when he was killed Feb. 9, 2017, by Portland police Officer Andrew Hearst, who shot Hayes three times with an AR-15 rifle from some 10 feet away as Hayes was on his knees with hands in the air. Police had cornered Hayes in a rain-soaked driveway in Northeast Portland following reports of armed carjackings in the area. Hayes was not armed when Hearst killed him. A month later, a grand jury declined to charge Hearst for the shooting.

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