City and police violated rights of woman’s fiancé killed by police in 2022, federal lawsuit says

The fiancé of a man shot and killed by Spokane Police in 2022 filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday alleging the city and police violated her rights and caused her emotional distress following his death.

The lawsuit, filed by Sarah McLaughlin, alleges Spokane police shot and killed her fiancé, 42-year-old Robert Bradley, in September 2022 “without provocation.” Police shot him “before giving him an opportunity to process what was happening and comply” in his backyard at his home in Hillyard, the lawsuit says.

A wrongful death lawsuit was also filed in 2023 in Spokane County court by Bradley’s family, claiming police fired their guns too quickly. He was shot nine times, according to the lawsuit.

The officers who killed Bradley, Cpl. Chris Johnson and Det. Trevor Walker, were found justified in their actions that day by prosecutors in March.

Spokane County Prosecutor Larry Haskell wrote in his report that Bradley saw the officers approaching and “lunged” into his van to try and seize his rifle when the officers shot him out of self-defense.

Police were attempting to serve Bradley a court order from his neighbor while he was unloading his van from a camping trip. Bradley’s neighbor texted police that he was walking around the backyard with a rifle, according to previous reporting from The Spokesman-Review.

Johnson then shouted: “Spokane Police! Let me see both your hands!” according to Haskell’s report. “Bradley failed to comply and continued to reach for the rifle. Both officers fired at him. Though Bradley went to the ground, he pulled a handgun from a holster on his hip and pointed it at the officers which resulted in Officer Johnson firing again.”

A forensic examination of the gun found near Bradley shows it was never fired and no shell casings matching the gun were found at the scene, according to the 2023 lawsuit.

The federal lawsuit filed by McLaughlin says Bradley was completely unaware the officers were approaching him because he was hard of hearing and wore hearing aids. Two seconds after police announced their presence, they “opened fire,” the lawsuit says.

When he fell to the ground bleeding, Johnson fired “four additional shots into Robert’s body,” according to the lawsuit.

McLaughlin witnessed Bradley dying as she was in the home with his children, the lawsuit says, and was unable to say goodbye since he was quickly carried away on a stretcher.

Because bullet casings were recovered on the porch of the home, McLaughlin alleges she was placed in danger by Spokane police that day and could have been struck by a bullet herself. She also says they violated her rights to be free from deprivations of her right to intimate association with Bradley, meaning the government should not interfere with her relationships.

McLaughlin requests compensation for emotional distress and trauma due to the death of her fiancé, the lawsuit says.

Spokane police did not respond to requests for comment Thursday, but typically decline speaking on pending litigation.