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THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE (California)
The family of a San Jose mother shot and killed by police as she stood in her kitchen holding a 10-inch vegetable peeler has agreed to settle their lawsuit against the city for $1.825 million.
The case stems from the July 13, 2003, shooting in which police officers responded to the home of 25-year-old Cau Bich Tran, an emotionally troubled mother of two young boys. A neighbor had called authorities to report screaming and pounding next door.
Within seconds after entering Tran's home, San Jose police Officer Chad Marshall opened fire, hitting Tran, an immigrant who spoke little English, in the heart. Marshall testified at a rare public grand jury hearing that he believed she was about to throw the blade, which he called a "cleaver."
The incident led to anger among many in the Vietnamese American community who pressed for an open inquiry into the shooting.
The grand jury did not indict Marshall in connection with Tran's death. The 18-member panel arrived at its decision after hearing seven days of testimony. Critics claimed Marshall overreacted when he shot the 4-foot-9-inch, 98-pound woman.
The family's attorney, Andrew Schwartz, said that the shooting was a terrible tragedy for the family and that the city's willingness to pay $1.825 million indicates it never should have happened.
"Nobody is very satisfied in a circumstance like this. This was a tragedy, it was horrible, and it was unnecessary," he said. "After 2 1/2 years of knock-down drag-out-litigation, which is what this was, we finally came to what I take as a quite favorable settlement."
San Jose City Attorney Rick Doyle said the city wanted to avoid a drawn-out case and make sure Tran's two young sons, now ages 5 and 6, would be provided for.
"This has been a very long, painful and arduous case," Doyle said. "I think it's caused a real rift with the community, with the family and in the city. This goes a long way toward patching that up and beginning a healing process."
Richard Konda, a member of the Coalition for Justice and Accountability, a group formed after the Tran shooting, said that he felt the settlement was fair to both sides and that it will help the community heal.
"Following the incident, there was a lot of distrust of the San Jose Police Department, in particular by the Vietnamese community," Konda said. "The question came up: How could a young mother, less than 5 feet tall, really be a credible threat? How could it end that way? I would hope because of this incident that when officers go out to the scene, they are looking at less lethal ways to de-escalate situations."
The settlement must still be approved by U.S. District Judge James Ware, Schwartz said.
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