Wrongful death lawsuit filed against Longview officers who shot, killed man in 2020
LONGVIEW, Wash. - A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against Longview Police officers for the fatal shooting of Justin Tofte in 2020.
The suit alleges Detective Jordan Sanders used excessive force, committed assault and battery, were negligent and deprived Tofte of civil rights. The two shot Tofte in the back after he ran from police on Oct. 2, 2020. It also claims the Longview Police Department has a history of excessive force, and fails to train officers to use deadly force only as a last resort.
The Herrmann Law Group and Galanda Broadman brought the suit against the City of Longview and "several police officers." It is not known if officers other than Sanders were sued.
"Our goal is to make this a teaching moment for the Longview Police Department, and the first step in that process is accountability," said attorney Ryan Dreveskracht of Galanda Broadman.
According to the police record, officers approached 33-year-old Tofte for an arrest warrant. Tofte crossed Oregon Way and then ran south. Sanders and another detective, Matt Hartley, ran after him, yelling for him to stop.
Tofte ran down an alley, and Sanders fired a taser, stunning Tofte and sending him to the ground. Tofte struggled back up to his feet and kept running, so Sanders shot Tofte in the back. Attorneys say the rest was captured on surveillance video—when Tofte fell a second time, an object fell out of his pocket, which Sanders said he believed was a handgun, so he shot at Tofte three more times.
Tofte got up and ran again, but eventually collapsed from his injuries. He died on his way to the hospital.
"Running from police is a bad idea, but it doesn’t justify a death sentence," said attorney Mark Lindquist of Herrmann Law, formerly a county prosecutor.
The Cowlitz County Prosecutor's Office is reviewing the case for possible criminal charges, attorneys say.
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Attorneys say Sanders was involved in another shooting in Sep. 2019, when he shot a man threatening to shoot himself. Longview Police responded with an armored vehicle, but instead of using it for cover, attorneys claim Sanders negligently put himself in the line of fire. This "officer-created jeopardy" gave him cause to shoot the man when he emerged from his home and pointed a gun in Sanders' direction, attorneys say.