CLARK COUNTY, Wash. — On Oct. 29, 2020, Kevin Peterson, Jr., a 21-year-old Black man, was fatally shot by Clark County Sheriff's deputies during a failed drug sting.
He showed up to a parking lot in Hazel Dell, expecting to deliver 50 Xanax pills. When he realized it it was a setup, attorney Mark Lindquist said, Peterson fled.
"It was what's called a buy bust operation," he said. "The officers chased him and he kept running. And they kept chasing. One of the things that stands out in people's memories about this shooting is that Kevin was running away and the officers shot at him from behind."
At the time, then-Sheriff Chuck Atkins initially said Peterson shot at deputies first, but an independent investigation found that to be false. Then, the deputies who fired their weapons were cleared of criminal wrongdoing by a Pierce County prosecutor less than a year later, who found the shooting "justified and lawful."
"The officers weren't criminally prosecuted, but there is a vast difference between the standards of a criminal prosecution and the standards of a civil lawsuit," Lindquist said.
In May 2022, Peterson's family and the mother of his child sued Clark County, the Sheriff, and the deputies involved, accusing them of wrongful death, negligence, and excessive force. The suit argues the deputies who shot Peterson had no legal justification to do so, because the 21-year-old did not pose an immediate threat to anyone.
On Thursday, a federal judge ruled the lawsuit will move ahead to trial, writing: "The Court concludes that a reasonable jury could find that when Detective Anderson fatally shot Peterson, Peterson did not pose an immediate threat to anyone."
"The opinion seems to acknowledge that Kevin was shot while he was running away, that the first officer was shooting at his back and that he had a cell phone in his hand when he sat up, not a gun," Lindquist said.
Lindquist said Peterson's family is pleased the case will move forward.
"Most of these officer-involved shootings never make it to the jury because of the legal protections afforded officers, and those protections are understandable given the job. But when you have facts such as here, it's gratifying to see the court say, 'no, this should go to the community. The community should decide,'" he said.
The federal trial will be held in Seattle, with the judge setting the start date for Oct. 30.
KGW reached out to the lawyers representing the county, former sheriff, and the deputies involved, but at this time, has not heard back.