City attorneys are proposing to pay $1.5 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the widow of a 29-year-old citizen of South Africa who was shot and killed by Honolulu police officers after a bloody fight at a Nuuanu home on April 14, 2021.

Three officers who responded to the 911 call that night were injured, including one who suffered facial fractures, memory loss, two herniated discs, a concussion and had shoulder surgery. That officer is still unable to return to active duty.

The settlement is subject to approval by the Honolulu City Council.

Council members will vote on the Department of Corporation Counsel’s recommendation to pay the family of Lindani Sanele Myeni $1.5 million at today’s full Council meeting.

The settlement ends a legal saga that created a diplomatic flashpoint for South Africa and the United States as the ruling government, provincial political parties and human rights activists in Myeni’s homeland demanded justice and transparency from local investigators and the White House.

Jim Bickerton, who filed the lawsuit in April 2021 against the city on behalf of Myeni’s widow and mother of their two children, Lindsay Myeni, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser his team agrees with the city’s attorneys and the professional mediator that it is a “fair settlement.”

“There are sound reasons why the settlement is the just and proper result. We don’t plan to relitigate the case in the press now that it is settling. We spent more than two years litigating and building the case, and it is time for the Myeni family and the city to bring this tragic case to a close,” Bickerton said.

In testimony submitted to the Council ahead of today’s meeting, Bickerton described Myeni as a “widely loved person, a charismatic and handsome athlete,” who played rugby at a high level and competed in television song contests.

An “aggravating factor” in the case “will be the plain racism and disrespect” that can be seen and heard in the way that one of the officers approached and spoke to and about this “peaceful and dignified Black man.”

“A person of a different race would not have been treated in this way and almost certainly would still be alive today,” wrote Bickerton, who detailed the potential damages that a jury could award that exceeded what was agreed upon with the city.

In response to Honolulu Star-Advertiser questions about why the city Department of the Corporation Counsel decided to settle with Myeni’s family after the fatal shooting was declared justified by prosecutors, Corporation Counsel Dana M.O. Viola and Prosecuting Attorney Steve Alm, through spokespeople, declined comment.

Alm is scheduled to testify before the City Council today about the settlement.

Honolulu Police Chief Arthur “Joe” Logan urged Council members to reject the settlement at the Sept. 24 City Council Executive Matters and Legal Affairs Committee meeting.

Logan said he respects the “role and responsibilities” of Viola’s office. Myeni’s death was unfortunate, but the officers did the right thing and the department backs their actions the night Myeni was shot and killed, he said.

“Our officers run into danger while everyone else is leaving danger. … On the night of this incident … they ran into danger which they did not expect,” said Logan, speaking to the committee Sept. 24. “Unfortunately, a life was lost but our officers … I support everything. … I firmly believe that they were right in all their actions as was evident by the investigation by the Prosecuting Attorney’s office that held that justifiable actions were taken.”

Logan urged Council members to consider the epidemic of violence on the Waianae Coast and the diverse array of threats police are addressing all over Oahu every day.

“This is not a time to say our officers may or may not have done something wrong. That’s absolutely inappropriate,” Logan said.

The lone member of the committee who voted against the proposed settlement was Council member Calvin Say. Say, through a spokesperson, declined comment Tuesday but maintained his opposition to the settlement ahead of today’s vote.

State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers President Robert Cavaco, an HPD lieutenant, told the Star-­Advertiser in an email that officers acted according to their training, department policy and the law in this incident.

“They attempted to use less lethal options, but they didn’t work. The suspect was viciously beating our officer so badly that our officer sustained multiple face fractures, a concussion, and other injuries, which he continues to suffer from today. The officer still has not been able to return to work, and he may never be able to be a police officer again,” Cavaco said. “When a suspect viciously attacks an officer, the City should not be handing out million dollar cash prizes to their family. We have a litigation division for a reason. They should be told to stand on principle, defend our officers, and let a jury decide.”

On June 30, 2021, Alm determined the fatal shooting was justified and that the three officers would not face criminal charges.

Myeni was a shot by two of three officers responding to a 911 caller’s allegations of a stranger wandering through a home in Nuuanu. The officers tried verbal commands, followed by a Taser, before using their firearms.

On the night of April 14, 2021, Shiying “Sabine” Wang and her husband, Da Ju “Dexter” Wang, alleged that Myeni followed them in his Mazda as they drove into the driveway of the home they were renting rooms in at 91 Coelho Way.

Myeni was tailgating them, and Sabine Wang called 911 and alleged that Myeni walked into her home and wandered around, telling her and her husband that he had video footage of them, that he lived there and owned the cat.

Wang’s 911 call generated a burglary complaint, and three patrol officers responded to it.

In body-worn camera footage released by the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney, Myeni attacks an officer who does not identify himself, but points a gun at Myeni and orders him to the ground.

Police did not verbally identify themselves as law enforcement officers until after he was shot four times, but police and prosecutors maintained that their uniforms, patrol cars and intentions were clear.

Myeni’s widow filed a lawsuit against HPD after patrol officer Brent Sylvester fired three shots at Myeni, hitting his left chest, right shoulder and right thigh, and officer Garrick Orosco fired a single shot into Myeni’s right chest.

Surveillance video also showed Myeni entering the home and then leaving while apologizing to the couple who called police.

The body-worn camera footage shows officers arriving at the scene and Myeni standing in a parking area on the property. Initially, he was not aggressive toward police, but he did not respond to their commands.

A police officer ordered Myeni to “get on the ground” multiple times, but he did not comply. Myeni, who was unarmed, can then be seen walking toward the officer and attacking him; a second officer arrived and deployed his Taser.

The Taser did not stop Myeni, who then attacked the officer who used it. An officer then fired the first shot.

The footage then shows Myeni attacking an officer who was on the ground before a third officer fired his gun three times at him. Myeni was later taken to a hospital and pronounced dead from his gunshot wounds.

Prior to the fight with officers in Nuuanu, Myeni allegedly behaved oddly, interfered with a police investigation of a car break-in at Kewalo Basin, asked officers there for money to buy food and tried to enter one of their patrol cars.

Myeni, a former professional rugby player, suffered from Stage 3 chronic traumatic encephalopathy, commonly known as CTE. The disease only can be diagnosed posthumously.

Bickerton said Alm based his refusal to charge the officers criminally on a claim that the area was well lit and that Myeni could see the man who was pointing a gun at him and ordering him to “get on the ground” without ever identifying himself as an officer.

“But the officers can all be heard on body-worn camera recordings saying it was so dark that they couldn’t see anything, and they were the ones shining tactical lights in Mr. Myeni’s eyes without ever announcing themselves as officers. On the recording you can even hear Lindani saying, ‘Who are you? Who are you?’ The first time they ever said ‘Police’ was after they had already shot him four times. We were disappointed that Mr. Alm chose not to acknowledge this evidence, but we appreciate that the City’s experienced civil attorneys looked at it closely,” Bickerton said.