NOWATA, Okla. (AP) — Court records show the estate of a man who was fatally shot in 2014 by an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper has settled a lawsuit out of federal court for $175,000. Joshua Stand was shot by trooper
NOWATA, Okla. (AP) — Court records show the estate of a man who was fatally shot in 2014 by an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper has settled a lawsuit out of federal court for $175,000.
Joshua Stand was shot by trooper Jerrod Martin after authorities received a call about a man walking in street with a weapon, the Tulsa World reported.
At the time of the shooting death, Martin was 28 and had been with the Highway Patrol for two years.
The civil rights lawsuit filed in 2016 alleged that Martin used “objectively unreasonable and excessive deadly force.” It also alleged Stand had a closed pocketknife and “posed no immediate threat of serious harm to anyone.”
Attorney Dan Smolen accused Martin of knowing Stand was mentally ill, which accounted for his “erratic and odd behavior.”
“When Martin shot Stand multiple times, Mr. Stand was ‘armed’ only with a closed pocket knife and was standing at a safe distance from Trooper Martin across the street,” Smolen said. “Stand had not charged at Trooper Martin or threatened to harm him or anyone else.”
District Attorney Kevin Buchanan said the evidence and “totality of circumstances” gave Martin a “reasonable apprehension” that he was “in danger of serious bodily injury or death” when Stand pulled his knife from his pocket.
The state Attorney General’s Office argued that Stand was “known to be unstable and violent” and had waved a knife in a threatening manner at Martin.
The lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff. Neither side admitted fault. They must pay their own costs and attorney fees.
Martin and the state have also been released from all allegations related to the shooting.
