TIGARD, OR (KPTV) -
A jury has awarded $2.5 million to the family of a Tigard man shot and killed by deputies in 2006.
Two Washington County deputies shot 18-year-old Lukus Glenn after a domestic disturbance. His mother told 911 dispatchers her son was drunk and suicidal, armed with a knife.
A Tigard police officer fired bean bag rounds at Glenn when he would not follow commands. Deputies fired their guns seconds later.
The Washington County district attorney's office previously cleared the officers of wrong-doing.
"It felt like Luke was with me and that, he was saying, 'Thanks mom, thanks dad. You didn't give up on me. You fought for me,'" Hope Glenn said. She stood outside the federal courthouse with her husband and lawyers, surrounded by friends and clutching a photo of her son.
She added, "Because we're there. We knew what happened, but nobody would listen to us except for our attorneys and friends."
Last year the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled a lawsuit filed by the man's family was wrongfully dismissed by a Portland judge and the case should go to a jury.
On Thursday, a jury ruled in favor of the family that Lukus Glenn's rights were violated and set damages set at $2.5 million.
Hope Glenn said her family wants the Washington County Sheriff's Office to make changes to the ways they handle similar calls, as well as change the process of reviewing officer-involved shootings.
"I'm hoping that nobody else has to go through what we went thorough and other kids won't be shot and have to fight so hard for so long," she said.
"That is an ongoing process that we take very seriously with an administrative view, with an annual training that we provide every year," said Sheriff Pat Garrett. "So that's not something that would be new for us. That is an ongoing part of the evolution of our organization."
The Washington County Sheriff's Office said a decision on an appeal will be determined at a later time.
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