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Honolulu’s City Council on Wednesday authorized $1 million to settle a lawsuit by the family of a 16-year-old boy who was shot by police.
The fatal shooting of Iremember Psycap in 2021 came amid national criticism over police use of force, but the case also highlighted racism toward Micronesians. Airport,
His attorney Eric Seitz said that if Psycap’s family had filed a lawsuit against the city and police officers, they would have sought $8 million to $10 million in general damages.
He said, “Shooting a kid in the back of the head eight times even though he was not armed, posed no threat to police officers, is likely to be really disturbing to a lot of jurors.”
Seitz said the family acknowledged little because of the “undercurrent of racism” in the case.
“If you look at the social media posts about this, there’s a lot of talk about ‘dirty Micronesians’ and ‘they got what they deserved’ … which, you know, is very concerning in our community,” he said. “But it’s there. It’s a real factor.”
Psycap’s family is from Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia, but he was born here guamAn American territory.
honolulu Corporation attorney Dana Viola told the council the settlement is fair because it prevents the officers from giving testimony that could be used against them in a future criminal trial because there is no statute of limitations for murder.
Interim Police Chief Rade Vanik said the department supports the agreement.
“Our officers have served this community with professionalism and courage, and they deserve full protection of their rights,” Mayor Rick Blangiardi said in a statement. “This agreement allows City Standing strong and moving forward in support of the men and women of the Honolulu Police Department.
At the time of the shooting, police said Psycap was driving a stolen car. Honda Linked to burglary, purse snatching, car theft and armed robbery and led authorities on a chase.