The city of Eagle Point will pay $4.5 million to settle a federal wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of an unarmed man who was shot and killed by an officer in the bathroom of a fast-food restaurant after the officer pursued him for an alleged jaywalking offense.

Matthew Graves, 33, died on Sept. 19, 2018. Officer Daniel Cardenas followed Graves, who had schizophrenia, into a Carl’s Jr. men’s bathroom in the southern Oregon town. Cardenas shot Graves in the back twice after initially firing a stun gun at Graves during a 90-second encounter and struggle inside the bathroom.

Michael and Vikki Graves filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Medford in December 2018, two days after the release of transcripts from a grand jury that ruled Cardenas was legally justified in shooting Matthew Graves.

The family contends the Eagle Point officer did nothing to de-escalate his exchange with Matthew Graves and mistakenly believed Graves had grabbed a police handgun when Graves had grabbed a Taser during the bathroom struggle.

“The Graves family emphasize that they support law enforcement officers in the heroic and often dangerous work they do,’’ their attorneys, Kelly L. Andersen and David J. Linthorst, wrote in a statement Tuesday. “They believe Cardenas’s conduct on the night of Sept. 19, 2018, was a terrible and tragic departure from the methods and manners the vast majority of police officers would have used in the same situation.’’

The family plans to use part of the settlement money to make annual charitable donations to mental health organizations that help people with schizophrenia and will make a significant donation to local groups that help homeless people, the lawyers said.

City County Insurance, which insures the city of Eagle Point , its police department and the officer, will pay the settlement.

“As a result of the settlement, Matthew’s parents hope that police officers throughout the United States will become better trained in how to interact with the mentally ill and to know how to use de-escalation techniques,’’ their lawyers said in the statement.

The family filed the lawsuit with the hope that it would help prevent another tragedy like their son’s death and spur the Taser stun gun manufacturer and law enforcement to “recognize the deadly consequences of using Tasers that are easily confused with handguns,’’ their lawyers said.

In June, attorneys for the city of Eagle Point had offered to settle the suit for $1 million and to change the appearance of Tasers to avoid confusion with guns, according to court records.

"As the Graves’ family, through their attorneys, have indicated their motivation is to ensure that an incident like this does not occur again, the defendants also agree that the Tasers used by the Eagle Point Police Department will be Cerakoted/or the finish treated to a bright color to be more easily identified,'' attorneys for the city, Thomas Armosino and Molly Silver, wrote in a settlement offer. "This Offer of Judgment is made for the purposes specified in Rule 68 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and is not to be construed either as an admission that any defendant is liable in this action.''

According to body camera footage and statements Cardenas made during the trial, Matthew Graves first caught the officer’s attention as he tried to cross Crater Lake Highway just after 8:45 p.m. Sept. 19. Cardenas said he had to slow his patrol car as Graves entered the street. The light was green for Cardenas and red for Graves, the officer told the grand jury.

Graves jumped back onto the sidewalk. But when Cardenas put his foot on the gas pedal, Graves walked into the road again. Cardenas passed through the intersection, then made a U-turn to speak with Graves.

Cardenas called for backup and followed Graves. Cardenas got out of his patrol car when Graves reached the Carl’s Jr. He followed Graves into the restaurant and drew his gun. Body camera footage showed Cardenas nudging the bathroom door open with his flashlight. As Graves dried his hands with a paper towel, Cardenas holsterd his gun and pulled out a Taser, shouting at Graves to get down on the floor.

“Let me see your (expletive) hands right now,” Cardenas shouted, according to the footage. "What the (expletive) are you doing?”

When Graves tried to leave, Cardenas fired his Taser at him. Graves backed into a stall and returned, walking toward Cardenas as the officer yelled at him to get on the ground.

The body camera footage showed Graves trying to get past Cardenas and Sgt. Clarence Davis, who had arrived as backup. The officers wrestled Graves to the ground. Davis testified that he saw Graves clutching what he thought was a gun, and alerted his partner, "He has a gun.'' Davis soon realized the gun that Matthew Graves had been clutching was the police Taser stun gun, not a handgun. Cardenas shot Graves twice in the back.

In its initial answer to the lawsuit, Eagle Point’s attorneys wrote that Matthew Graves had assaulted the sergeant "using fists and a Taser,'' and was shot and killed after Graves had "reached for for a deadly or dangerous weapon in an apparent attempt to assault law enforcement.''

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian

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