(Information from: KGW-TV, http://www.kgw.com/)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Polk County Sheriff’s Office and two other police agencies settled a lawsuit filed by relatives of a man killed by law enforcement last year.
KGW reports Polk County’s insurer agreed to pay $650,000 to the family of Joshua Bolster, who was shot during a July 2016 traffic stop west of Salem. Insurers for the cities of Monmouth and Salem combined to chip in another $50,000, and all the agencies agreed to change their use-of-force and mental-crisis policies.
Bolster’s family filed the civil lawsuit after a grand jury determined the shooting was legally justified.
The lawsuit said Bolster’s death could have been avoided if police knew he was experiencing a mental health crisis and how to handle it.
Polk County deputies have been involved in two shootings since Bolster’s death.