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SAN BERNARDINO, CA— The City of San Bernardino has announced that an agreement has been reached to settle a $100 million lawsuit stemming from a 2022 officer involved shooting, filed by the estate of Rob Marquise Adams. The settlement amount was $4 million.
“San Bernardino agreed to the settlement recognizing the costs and attorneys’ fees to take a federal civil rights case to trial, as well as the risks associated with a civil jury, given the current climate in the courts,” said attorney Steven Rothans, who represented the city on the case.
In addition to the city and the estate of Rob Marquise Adams, the agreement includes the two police officers involved.
Both the City and representatives of the estate of Rob Adams had been in mediation with retired Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Dan Buckley. The settlement was reached on February 17, 2024.
The trial was scheduled to begin in June. The $4 million total includes all payments to the plaintiffs and fees to their attorneys, Ben Crump, and Brad Gage, as well as additional costs, expert witnesses, etc.
The case was a result of a fatal officer involved shooting that occurred on July 16, 2022.
Two officers from the San Bernardino Police Department drove into an alleyway near the 400 block of Highland Avenue in the City of San Bernardino to obtain information that could potentially lead to a search warrant on a location known for illegal gambling activity.
The officers had learned that a subject known as “JuJu”, who was a convicted felon and had recently been released from custody, was working as a security guard for the gambling establishment.
As the two officers proceeded in their unmarked police unit into the alley, a male African American (later identified as Rob Marquise Adams) who matched the description of the individual that officers had received information about lifted his t-shirt revealing a firearm to the officers. The officers quickly exited their unmarked vehicle in uniforms, identified themselves as police officers, and commanded the male subject to “freeze”.
The individual did not freeze, but with a firearm in his right hand began to run from the officers in between two parked vehicles. Believing that the subject was trying to find cover and ambush the officers, one of the officers fired six rounds at the suspect as the suspect began to turn to look back over his left shoulder. A firearm was recovered at the scene and subsequently tested positive for the subject’s DNA.
