Redmond to pay $7.5 million after officer fatally shot woman

REDMOND, Wash. (AP) — The Redmond City Council Tuesday night voted to pay $7.5 million to settle a wrongful-death claim made by the family of a woman who was shot to death in 2020 by a police officer as she lay unarmed and awaiting arrest outside her apartment door.

Kim Zak, an attorney for the family of Andrea Churna, said the money will go to her estate, her parents and her 8-year-old son, the Seattle Times reported.

“While no amount of money will bring Andrea back, the settlement does send a clear message that the Redmond Police Department made some serious errors in the way they handled Andrea’s call for help as well as highlights necessary change in their hiring and training practices,” Zak said.

Churna, 39, had called police seeking help because she believed someone was in her home the night of Sept. 20, 2020.

She had been ordered out of her apartment and was prone on the floor waiting for officers to handcuff her when Officer Daniel Mendoza — who had been fired by the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office for poor performance —shot her six times with a high-powered rifle.