Civil lawsuit between City of Memphis, Martavious Banks settled
The City of Memphis has reached a settlement with the family of Martavious Banks, who was shot several times while fleeing Memphis police in September 2018.
A stipulation of dismissal, which is a filing that signifies a voluntary agreement between the two parties, was filed in federal court for the Western District of Tennessee. Banks will receive a $200,000 settlement.
It’s not immediately clear how much of the settlement will go towards Banks’ legal representation.
Banks filed the lawsuit one year after the shooting, and sought $10 million in damages. All three officers involved in the shooting were named in the civil suit, including former Memphis Police Department Officer Jamarcus Jeames who resigned after the shooting.
An internal investigation concluded Jeames switched off his body camera before firing his duty weapon at Banks.
The other two officers involved in the shooting, Christopher Nowell and Michael Williams II, re- ceived unpaid suspensions for body camera policy violations on the night of the shooting, according to police.
Banks’ injuries were significant; he spent several weeks in an ICU room on life support at Regional One Hospital. Months after his release from the hospital, Banks’ was arrested and charged with evading arrest, reckless driving, unlawful possession of a weapon, and driving without a license on the night of the shooting.
Banks pleaded guilty to the charges, and was released under several supervisory conditions.
The shooting sparked a week of protests in South Memphis that resulted in the arrests of several individuals and community activists, who raised questions about transparency between the public and police.
Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich’s office declined to charge the officers involved in the shooting. In November 2020, Weirich’s office released redacted footage and documents from the night of the shooting, none of which offered a clear and concise narrative of the shooting.
Weirich said the officer’s account that Banks had turned toward him with a gun was supported by the evidence, and noted a gun was found at scene of the shooting with Banks’ blood on it.
In response to the release of video footage, Banks’ attorney, Arthur Horne, said the district attorney was asking the public to believe the officer who switched off his body camera, fired shots, and then subsequently left the police department.
“You have to take his word as being truthful,” Horne said in November.
Commercial Appeal reporter Daniel Connolly contributed to this report.
Micaela Watts is a breaking news reporter for The Commercial Appeal, and can be reached at micaela.watts@ commercialappeal.com.