A jury in a federal court awarded $67 million dollars to the family of a man who was fatally shot by Austin police officers this week. On May 7, 2017, officers working downtown Austin reported hearing gunfire. Landon Nobles, 24, was identified as the shooter. While some witnesses said that they did not see Nobles with a weapon, a relative of Nobles who was at the scene, said that he did have a gun.
As officers approached Nobles, he fled the scene. Austin police Lt. Richard Egal pushed his bike into Nobles as he ran and saw that he was in possession of a gun. According to the Austin Statesman, as Nobles fell after being struck by Egal’s bike, he then got up and ran again.
Egal and Austin Police Corporal Max Johnson viewed the suspect fleeing with a weapon, in downtown, as an imminent threat and opened fire. Five shots were fired and three struck Nobles.
Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore determined that the shooting was justified.
“The city and the officers are genuinely surprised by the verdict, both the question of liability and certainly on the dollar amount awarded,” a city of Austin spokesperson said.
Egal and Johnson violated Nobles’ Fourth Amendment right to be protected from excessive force, the jury decided. Of the total damages awarded, Egal should pay $187,500, and Johnson should pay $150,000, jurors said.
Jurors found that both officers’ actions were “objectively unreasonable … such as that no reasonable officer could have believed that the shooting was lawful,” according to court documents. The amount of damages was based on physical pain, mental anguish, loss of companionship, and punitive damages.
