Washington city to pay $2M to settle police killing lawsuit

POULSBO, Wash. (AP) — Lawyers say the city of Poulsbo, Washington, and its police department will pay $2 million to settle a civil-rights lawsuit filed last year by the family of Stonechild Chiefstick. Police shot Chiefstick at a park during the city’s crowded 2019 Independence Day celebration. The lawsuit alleged officer Craig Keller shot Chiefstick 12 seconds after arriving to investigate complaints that Chiefstick had threatened someone with a screwdriver. The lawsuit, filed last year by Seattle attorney Gabriel Galanda, said the Poulsbo Police Department had been lax in its de-escalation training and that Keller was prone to unnecessary uses of force. Prosecutors reviewed the shooting and declined to file criminal charges.