MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A man who survived a shooting by police after a fleeing a traffic stop has settled his lawsuit against the city of Memphis, Tennessee.
Sources say Martavious Banks will receive a $200,000 settlement after a voluntary agreement between him and the city was filed in federal court, local reports indicate.
Memphis attorney Arthur Horne, part of Martavious Banks’ legal team, would not confirm his client has reached a $200,000 settlement with the city of Memphis but did say the amount agreed upon is far less than what was initially asked for.
“A lot of times when we file these complaints, obviously, we ask for more than what we think the case is valued at,” Horne said.
The original lawsuit had sought $10 million in damages. According to the lawsuit, the officers used excessive force when they “shot the Plantiff over 20 times causing him to suffer great physical, mental and emotional injuries.” They also “took actions to conceal the true nature of events and what occurred by causing the In-Car Camera System and Body Worn Camera to be turned off prior to the shooting and assault.”
The lawsuit also claimed the city of Memphis failed to properly train and supervise its officers.
Banks ran from a police traffic stop and was shot by a Memphis officer five times in September 2018. Banks was critically wounded.
In May, Banks was indicted on a number of charges related to the pursuit including intent to evade arrest auto risk/death, unlawful possession of a weapon in a public place, driving with a suspended or revoked license and reckless driving.
Banks’ attorney said Banks entered a plea deal in August 2019 and was released from jail. He pleaded guilty to the evading charge and unlawful possession of a weapon charge and was given two years and 10 months of probation.
Banks sued after an investigation showed officers did not have their body cameras activated as required by department policy.
“It’s really been an unusual case because normally when we take these cases, our clients are usually dead,” Horne said. “And Mr. Banks actually survived and lived through this incident—this traumatic incident—and so it’s been a journey.”
According to the city’s police director, all three of the officers had either their body-worn cameras or patrol car cameras turned off at some point during the incident.
An officer who chased him to the front porch shot Banks five times when he said the suspect turned and began to point a handgun at him. The gun was recovered inside the house where Banks collapsed.
No criminal charges were filed against the officers. However, the officer who fired the shots resigned and three other officers were disciplined for violations of department policy related to body-worn cameras, pursuit and radio communications.
Horne says he talks to banks regularly and says he is still coping with what happened.
“He still hasn’t fully recovered from the shooting, and he is trying to move forward and live a decent life,” Horne said.
