City of Seattle pays $515,000 settlement in police shooting

SEATTLE — The city of Seattle has agreed to pay $515,000 to settle a civil-rights lawsuit filed by the estate of Iosia Faletogo, who was shot and killed by police after a foot chase across Aurora Avenue North on New Year’s Eve 2018.

Faletogo’s last words, caught on police body cameras — “Nope, not reaching!” — became a rallying cry for protesters against police racism and violence in the weeks after the killing, the Seattle Times reported.

The department’s civilian-run Office of Police Accountability found the officers’ actions justified. Graphic body-camera video appeared to show Faletogo had dropped a handgun in a struggle with officers and was unarmed just before the fatal shot was fired.

The video showed Faletogo on his hands and knees saying, “Nope, not reaching,” referring to the handgun that was on the ground.

The settlement approved Wednesday would divide the money between the estate’s attorneys and Faletogo’s two minor children.

Nate Bingham, a Seattle attorney representing Faletogo’s estate, said the family and Faletogo’s mother, Lisa Elisara, would not have any immediate comment.

A message sent Wednesday seeking comment from the Seattle City Attorney’s Office, which defended the city in the lawsuit, was not immediately returned.