LAWRENCE, Kan. — The city of Lawrence has reached a settlement with a Black driver who was shot by a police officer in 2018.
The driver, Akira Lewis, filed an excessive force lawsuit after he was shot during a traffic stop. In court documents filed Friday, the city agreed to pay Lewis $80,000. Under the settlement, neither the city nor Lewis accepted liability in the shooting. Lewis was shot by a rookie officer who said she meant to use her Taser but drew her gun instead. He said the traffic stop was racially motivated.
The city contended Lewis caused the shooting by refusing to get out his car and fighting with officers.
