Home / Dallas News / Dallas will pay $610,000 to settle police shooting of unarmed man

Dallas will pay $610,000 to settle police shooting of unarmed man

On Dec. 9, 2013, 19-year-old Kelvion Walker got into a maroon Chevy Malibu driven by his friend, Reginald “Reggie” Robertson. The car had been stolen at gunpoint at a Diamond Shamrock gas station earlier that day.

The drive ended near the intersection of Military Parkway and St. Augustine Road in southeast Dallas, where then-Senior Cpl. Amy Wilburn shot Walker in the abdomen as he sat in the passenger seat, sending the teenager to Baylor University Medical Center’s emergency room.

Six years later, the city will pay Walker and his attorneys $610,000 to settle the federal civil lawsuit that had concluded in a mistrial in September — ending the case that at the time marked the first time in four decades a Dallas officer had been indicted over a police shooting.

Walker in 2014 had asked for at least $10 million from the city. Geoff Henley, Walker’s attorney, said the hung jury played a part in the amount the case had been settled for, and that going through another trial — at the risk of another mistrial — would have been emotionally burdensome.

“I want Kelvion to be made whole,” Henley said. “That sense of lack of resolution and finality can be extremely disheartening for a plaintiff and, frankly, for anybody involved.”

The Dallas City Council on Wednesday approved the settlement without discussion in a resolution that stated it was in the “best interest” of the city. Interim City Attorney Chris Caso declined to comment on the settlement.

Wilburn was believed to be the first Dallas cop to face charges over a shooting since Officer Darrell Cain, who fatally shot 12-year-old Santos Rodriguez in 1973.

Wilburn pleaded guilty to a reduced misdemeanor charge in the criminal lawsuit in May 2018 and received 18 months probation. She was initially charged with felony aggravated assault by a public servant.

Wilburn was fired from the force after an internal investigation found she had violated the department’s use of deadly force policy. According to a DPD statement in December 2013, Wilburn shot an unarmed person “without fear or justification.”

Attorneys for Wilburn didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

Dash cam footage from Wilburn’s patrol vehicle didn’t show Walker when he was shot. But he and a witness, a real estate agent who was facing the scene, said the 19-year-old had been shot while unarmed with his hands up in the air.

Robertson fled the moving vehicle and was being chased by two officers as the car continued to roll toward townhomes. In dash cam video footage, Wilburn can be seen running up to the car on the driver’s side after Robertson had left, drawing her gun and firing one shot at the passenger.

Walker in a sworn affidavit said he didn’t know the vehicle had been carjacked when he entered the car. He recalled yelling at Wilburn, “What you shoot me for?”

Robertson was convicted of aggravated robbery and unauthorized use of a motorized vehicle. Walker was not charged with a crime.

Walker had three surgeries after the shooting. At one point he flatlined, prompting doctors to open his chest in an emergency thoracotomy. Henley estimated he incurred about $240,000 in medical expenses.

Henley said Walker still has shaking spells in the presence of police officers. The bullet, which was never removed due to its location, will likely remain in Walker’s body for the rest of his life, Henley said.

“Kelvion certainly wants to put this behind him, move on with his life,” Henley said. “I certainly want that.”

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