A large settlement is expected in the case of Gary King Jr., who was murdered by Oakland police on Sept. 20, 2007. One of the plaintiffs in the case is King’s child, who was born after King was killed.
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King, a 20-year-old African American man, after being beaten and tasered, was shot twice in the back near his home by Oakland cop Patrick Gonzalez. As he lay dying, Gonzalez stood on his back and handcuffed him.
Gonzalez had a history of police brutality. In 2006, he shot another Oakland youth, paralyzing him. In 2002, he killed another man.
Oakland has one of the highest numbers of police shootings in the United States, and with a number of other police brutality lawsuits pending, the city felt it might lose this case if it went to court. Assistant Attorney General Randolph Hall urged the City Council to approve the settlement “to avoid the risk of an adverse jury verdict.”
Following Gary King’s murder, the community continually protested the pandemic of police brutality in Oakland. A vibrant mural of Gary King Jr. at the corner of 54th and Martin Luther King in Oakland remains near the spot where he was gunned down.
