City of San Bernardino reaches $4M settlement with family of man killed by police

The city of San Bernardino has settled a lawsuit filed by the family of a man who was killed by police in a July 2022 shooting that made national headlines.

Robert Marquise Adams, 23, was shot and killed by police on the evening of July 16, 2022, in a parking lot on the 400 Block of West Highland Avenue.

Video released from the San Bernardino Police Department shortly after the deadly shooting showed officers pull into the parking lot, which they said was adjacent to an illegal gambling operation, when they were approached by Adams.

Police said Adams was armed with a handgun and approached their vehicle, a characterization that some members of his family disagreed with, alleging that he was unarmed.

The officers, who the Police Department said were uniformed, can then be seen getting out of the unmarked vehicle, leading to Adams to turn and run. He hid behind two vehicles when one of the officers opened fire and he was fatally struck.

Adams can be heard in body-cam audio crying in pain and asking the officers why they shot him while one of the officers tells him he will be OK. He was transported to the hospital by ambulance and later died.

Video of the deadly police shooting was shared across social media, including by activist Shaun King, who called it a “brutal execution.”

“Police rolled up in an unmarked car. ⁣With dark tinted windows,” King said in an Instagram post. “Robert had NO IDEA who they were and in an instant police jumped out and murdered him.”

The Police Department’s description of events differed, with San Bernardino Police Chief Darren Goodman saying the involved officers identified themselves and gave Adams verbal commands to surrender. After he ran and took cover behind the nearby vehicles, Goodman said the officers “believed that [Adams] intended to use the vehicle as cover to shoot at them.”

Adams’ family hired prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump to represent them in their lawsuit against the city. Crump previously represented the family of George Floyd, who was murdered by police in Minneapolis in 2020.

This week, San Bernardino settled that lawsuit with Adams’ family to the tune of $4 million.

The lawsuit was originally filed seeking damages for $100 million and was expected to reach trial in June, the city said, but a settlement was reached in February after both sides went into mediation.

The $4 million will go toward the Adams family, legal fees and “additional costs,” a Friday news release reads.

A spokesperson for the city asserted again that the officers identified themselves and ordered Adams to “freeze.” The release repeated Goodman’s earlier claims that the officers believed Adams was preparing to “find cover and ambush” them, which led to one of the officers firing six shots as he turned to look back over his shoulder.

The city also revealed that the two officers were looking to “obtain information that could potentially lead to a search warrant on a location known for illegal gambling activity.” Previously, the Police Department stated the officers had responded to the scene following a report of a man armed with a gun.

Specifically, the officers were looking for a person referred to only as “JuJu,” who was recently released from custody and was reportedly working as a security guard at an illegal gambling business. They approached Adams, the city said, because he “matched the description” of that individual.

A firearm, the city says, was recovered at the scene and tested positive for Adams’ DNA.

Attorney Steven Rothans, who represented the city in the case, said the settlement was reached due to the expected legal costs associated with a trial as well as the city’s reluctance to face a civil jury “given the current climate in the courts.”

Crump hailed the settlement as a victory for the Adams family, posting on X, previously Twitter, “This is a significant step forward in our quest for justice for Rob Adams AND gaining accountability in instances of police violence.”

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