City of Tacoma approves nearly $15 million settlement to victim of 2022 shooting
TACOMA, Wash. - The city of Tacoma just approved a nearly $15 million settlement for a man who was left paralyzed after a 2022 shooting.
Jay Barbour is a beloved restaurant owner who was shot twice in June 2022 while in his car.
One of the bullets severed his spine, paralyzing him from the waist down.
Mason Taylor, who was 20 years old at the time, was sentenced to prison for first-degree assault.
The claim filed says a now-fired Tacoma police officer was responsible for Taylor's access to a gun.
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The officer was accused of leaving a gun on a curb at a shooting scene where Taylor was.
The victim's attorney, Mark Lindquist, alleges Taylor used that gun days later to shoot Barbour.
FOX 13 spoke to Barbour when he filed the claim. He said at that moment, his life changed forever.
"It has changed in every single way. My life has changed every single second, every single thing," Barbour said.
Now, he lives most of his life in a wheelchair. And a year ago, he said he was still in constant agonizing pain.
"We wanted to fix this mistake that happened from Tacoma police office because if they have not given the gun back I would not be on a wheelchair."
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