Citing 'Race Card,' Lakewood Police Want Leonard Thomas Verdict Tossed

SEATTLE, WA - An attorney for Lakewood police is asking a federal judge to either reduce or throw out the $15.1 million penalty a jury in July awarded the family of Leonard Thomas. Thomas, an unarmed black man, was shot and killed in Fife in 2013 by a Lakewood police sniper who was part of a SWAT team involved in a standoff with Thomas. The jury found that Thomas' killing was unjustified because he didn't pose a threat to officers or the members of his family who were with him in his Fife home.

Last week, Brian C. Augenthaler, an attorney representing Lakewood police, filed a number of motions seeking to relieve the Lakewood officers and department of the verdict. In one motion, asking a federal judge for a new trial, Augenthaler makes the argument that the first trial was tainted by allowing the plaintiffs to talk about race and even make "thinly veiled" references to the Black Lives Matter group.

"[T]he court permitted Plaintiffs to discuss 'racial factors' allegedly influencing defendants’ decision-making on the night in question," Augenthaler wrote. "The clarification permitted Plaintiffs to capitalize on the public outcry against police shootings of African-American men and women throughout the country. Indeed, on the day before jury selection, the shooting of a woman by Seattle Police Department officers made national news."

The confrontation between police and Thomas happened on a June night in 2013. Police responded to Thomas' Fife home after Thomas' mother, Analesa, called 911 to report that Thomas was drinking and had slapped a phone out of her hand. When police arrived, a four-hour standoff involving the regional SWAT team ensued.

The standoff ended when Thomas exited his home to let his son go home with his Analesa Thomas. When Thomas emerged, Lakewood police Chief Mike Zaro, who was in charge of the SWAT team, ordered officers to enter the home through a back door to prevent Thomas from reentering the home, according to court records. When Thomas heard police enter his home, he picked up his son and began moving across the porch. Thinking that Thomas was assaulting his son, Lakewood police Sgt. Brian Markert fired one shot from 90 feet away. Thomas died on the porch.

Aside from the "race card," Augenthaler also argues in favor of a new trial because of evidence that was not allowed to be presented during the first trial including: discussion of weapons found inside Thomas' home; the exclusion of the affect of the Josh Powell incident (Powell killed himself and his two sons in 2012 in Graham, and police were criticized for not responding properly); and that the defendants were not allowed to present a 3D model of the crime scene.

In addition to asking for a new trial, attorneys for Lakewood are asking to reduce the jury award by approximately $12.7 million, which would leave the Thomas family with about $2.4 million.

Image via Lakewood police