Church Thief Shot by Calif. Cop Awarded $1.2M
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A San Francisco Bay Area city will pay $1.2 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a burglary suspect who was left a paraplegic after being shot by a police officer.
The Oakland City Council approved the payment to Charles Davis Jr. during a closed session Tuesday night.
Davis was suspected of burglarizing a church in 2007 when he was shot by the Oakland officer. Though Davis was unarmed, the officer said he mistook items that Davis was stealing from the church for a gun.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rick Simons, Davis' attorney, says the money will be used the help the 49-year-old Davis with the "basic needs" of living as a paraplegic.
The settlement comes after the council voted on Sept. 22 to approve a $1.5 settlement payment to the family of a 20-year-old man shot and killed by an Oakland police officer in 2007.