Mom to sue Clark County over son’s ‘wrongful death’

VANCOUVER, Wash. (KOIN) — The mother of a man shot to death by a Clark County deputy announced the family is filing a $17 million tort claim against the sheriff’s office.

Jenoah Donald was stopped by deputies in Hazel Dell for a faulty tail light in February. The traffic stop escalated and he was shot in his car by a deputy. He died a week later in the hospital.

At a Thursday press conference, the family’s lawyer, Mark Lindquist of the Herrmann Law Group, said he wanted to highlight a few points that show why this is a wrongful death.

Lindquist said the initial stop was illegal, that one deputy escalated the situation when she wrongly claimed she saw a weapon in the car, and another deputy punched Donald in the face and then tried to physically drag him out of the car.

In a statement, the Clark County Sheriff Chuck Atkins conveyed his condolences to Donald’s family.

“The death of Jenoah Donald is tragic. As per the new state law from I-940, the investigation into this incident has been handled by an outside agency and the Clark County Sheriff’s Office has had no role in the investigation. The investigation has been forwarded for the Prosecuting Attorney’s review and we are awaiting the conclusion of that step in the process. We also await receipt of the Tort Claim, to evaluate it in more detail. We will have no further comment on the matter pending completion of the Prosecutor’s review. My condolences are with the family and loved ones of Jenoah Donald.”