The San Diego City Council on Tuesday approved the largest settlement in a death related to a police action in the U.S. since George Floyd.
The council voted 8-0, with one member absent, to pay a $30 million settlement in the lawsuit that Steven Lee Wilson filed against the city over the death of his 16-year-old son, Koana Wilson. Koana, who was running out of the downtown Santa Fe train station at 8:51 p.m. Jan. 28, died after being shot in the back by a San Diego police officer.
The city is paying the $30 million from its Public Liability Fund, according to a city staff report.
Koana was running on the west platform of the Santa Fe train station in the 1100 block of Kettner Boulevard in downtown San Diego, according to a San Diego Police Department video, which features surveillance footage showing what appears to be another juvenile firing a gun at Koana. The surveillance footage shows Koana running, and an officer’s body camera shows the officer firing at Koana when the boy runs toward him, then turns into the street.
Viewer discretion is advised for the police department’s YouTube video because of its graphic images and language. You can access the video at this link.
According to the lawsuit, San Diego Police Officer Daniel Gold fired two shots at Koana “instantly, without warning.” Koana, who the family said was running away from another shooting before being shot, was taken to University of California, San Diego Health Medical Center and pronounced dead less than an hour later.
City Councilmember Henry L. Foster III commented on the settlement at Tuesday’s meeting. After expressing his condolences to the Wilson family, Foster said, “Koana’s life was taken while fleeing from gunshots. He found himself running into the arms of a police officer, and his life ended. This should not have happened.
“This should not have happened,” Foster repeated, shaking his head. “Koana should have been safe from danger.”
Foster noted San Diego was making national headlines with a settlement exceeding the $27 million that the city of Minneapolis paid to Floyd’s family in March 2021.
That came during a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city and the four officers involved with his death. Officer Derek Chauvin, who placed his knee on Floyd’s neck as Floyd said, “I can’t breathe,” was convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in April 2021 by a Minnesota jury and later sentenced to more than 20 years in prison on state charges. He received an additional federal sentence for civil rights violations.
“We find ourselves in another terrifying predicament when the life of a Black child has been taken at the hands of police,” Foster said. “Where’s the progress? Where’s the ‘protect and serve’? Better yet, where’s the accountability?
“There’s no way to put a number on the loss of a life, to repair the harm and hurt to a family losing a loved one,” Foster said. “As a father of a young Black man, this hurts.
“This could be my son,” Foster said. “If only you can understand the fear I often have when my son leaves the house.”
“As a city, we have to do better,” the council member said.
The police department’s video that includes footage from Gold’s body camera shows Koana running around the corner and straight at Gold, then turning into the street as Gold fired shots. Afterward on the video, Gold yells, “San Diego police!” Then Koana falls onto the ground, and the video shifts to text explaining police and the San Diego Fire Department administered medical aid including CPR.
“When officers began providing medical aid, a firearm was located concealed under clothing in the juvenile’s right thigh area,” San Diego police said in a caption in the video. The video shows police removing a handgun and later includes a photo of the gun.
San Diego police said it investigated the first shooting at the Santa Fe Depot, the one that Koana was running away from, and identified and arrested the shooter, who’s a 16-year-old juvenile, on Feb. 6.
The shooting by Gold is being investigated by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office, San Diego Police Department’s Internal Affairs Unit, the Shooting Review Board and the Commission on Police Practices, according to the San Diego police video. The county District Attorney’s Office said it is working to determine whether to file criminal charges against Gold, who police say is currently limited to desk duty.
San Diego police said the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office have monitored the investigation.
The Center Square reached out Wednesday to San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, the San Diego Police Department and the Wilson family’s attorney, Nick Rowley, for comment, but did not get a response.
