The city of Portland is facing a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by the estate of Immanueal "Manny" Clark, an unarmed Black man who was fatally shot by a police officer in 2022. The lawsuit, brought against the officer involved and the city, alleges the use of excessive force and negligence in failing to provide timely medical care to Clark after he was shot.
On the night of November 19, 2022, officers pursued a vehicle they believed was linked to an armed robbery attempt. According to OPB, Portland Police Officer Christopher Sathoff fired three rounds from an AR-15 rifle at Clark as he ran, hitting him in the back. The officers were acting on a misidentification, as the original report described three or four white male suspects—not a Black man like Clark.
Following the shooting, Clark was transported to a hospital, where he died two days later. An internal investigation by the Portland Police is ongoing, and Sathoff was not criminally charged, a decision supported by a Multnomah County grand jury. The details of the incident came to light during the grand jury proceedings and have sparked protests from Clark's family members, demanding justice and answers to crucial questions.
"Why did this happen? Is there going to be any accountability? And what's going to protect the next person who's in a similar situation?” Clark's family attorney, Ashlee Albies, told KATU. The lawsuit specifically notes that Clark waited nearly half an hour for medical assistance post-shooting. Albies expressed deep concerns about the racial misidentification and the fact that Clark was shot in the back while unarmed and fleeing.
Despite Sathoff's testimony stating he did not know about the race of the suspects at the time, the attorney for Clark's family strongly criticized the officer's actions, stating, "That is not sufficient to justify shooting someone in the back because you believe they might be reaching for a waistband for a gun that you have never seen." The case has highlighted the harsh realities of policing tactics and racial profiling, casting a long shadow over the Portland Police Bureau's procedures and accountability measures. The city attorney's office has declined to comment on the ongoing lawsuit.
