City of Spokane poised to agree to $3.7 million settlement with estate of man killed by police
The city of Spokane and its insurers are poised to pay $3.7 million to the estate of Robert Bradley, who was shot and killed by city police in 2022, ending a wrongful death lawsuit against the city while admitting no wrongdoing.
If accepted, it will be the second -largest settlement related to a police shooting lawsuit in the city’s history when combined with the $500,000 paid to Bradley’s fiancée in December. The city’s legal fees to fight the Bradley wrongful death claims reached up to $600,000 in May.
The city will reportedly have to pay $1.5 million of the settlement, while the remaining $2.2 million will be covered by its insurer. The settlement was negotiated by the insurer.
Officers shot Bradley at his home in September 2022 when they say he pulled a handgun on them as they were trying to serve a court order related to a dispute with a neighbor.
Bradley’s family sued the officers and the city of Spokane in 2023, alleging the 41-year-old was unloading guns and camping gear from his van from a camping trip when police ambushed him, shooting him within seconds of approaching the van parked at the family’s home in Hillyard. Bradley was hard of hearing, and the plaintiffs argue that he was not given time or sufficient warning to process that police were on the scene before officers opened fire.
Former Spokane County Prosecutor Larry Haskell, who recently resigned from his position, ruled in March 2024 that police Cpl. Chris Johnson and Det. Trevor Walker fired in self-defense, and he declined to file charges against them.
Bradley’s children were represented by attorney Rondi Thorp, who also represented the estate of David Novak in the city’s largest police shooting settlement. The city spent $4.8 million between settlements with Novak’s family and $600,000 in legal fees.
Thorp also has been retained by the families of two other men shot and killed by Spokane police in recent years: Kerry Jones-Hilburg, a 34-year-old who was killed after allegedly shoplifting in a Spokane Walmart in December 2023, and Joshua Musselman, a 29-year-old who was killed outside his home in December 2024.