Oklahoma City approves settlement in 2021 deadly police shooting

The Oklahoma City Council has approved a settlement in the case of a lawsuit brought on by the mother of 34-year-old Daniel Hobbs, who was shot and killed by police in May of 2021.

Police were dispatched to the scene following a 911 call made by a neighbor, who told dispatchers "he's at his grandpa's house and his grandpa has a VPO against him." But, no protection order existed.

But that wasn't known to the responding officer, who made contact with Hobbs on the lawn of his grandfather's house.

“When he went down to do what we call a cursory pat first, a struggle ensued,” said Oklahoma City Maj. Dan Stewart at the time. “And during the course of this struggle the officer and person involved went to the ground.”

The officer shot and killed Hobbs, and was not criminally charged.

Hobbs' family said he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and had been not taking needed medicine for multiple months. Police later said they had responded to that same house earlier that year for a report that Hobbs was threatening his grandfather and another person with a knife and said he would kill them.

Hobbs' mother, Jeannie McClaine, originally sued the city for wrongful death seeking more than $75,000.

Under the terms of the council-approved settlement, the city has agreed to pay $50,000 to McClaine.

A city spokesperson declined to comment, and Hobbs' family has not yet responded to a request for comment.

In 2022, and not directly related to Hobbs' case, Oklahoma City took on a series of improvement projects for its public safety partnership. 39 recommendations were made to the city. To date, 13 projects have been completed, including at least two projects dealing directly with crisis intervention.