Atlanta, Georgia — Georgia Tech has agreed to pay $1 million to the family of a student shot and killed by a campus police officer four years ago.
The student, Scout Schultz, 21, was shot and killed September 16, 2017 after repeated requests by police to drop a knife as Schultz was advancing towards officers and saying “shoot me.”
The 911 call reporting a suspicious person was placed by Schultz. Schultz described the suspicious person as a “white male, with long blonde hair, white t-shirt and blue jeans who is possibly intoxicated, holding a knife and possibly armed with a gun on his hip.” The description of the person matched Schultz’s appearance.
Schultz’s parents say their child was seeing a counselor for depression and had previously attempted suicide. The Schultz family lawyer says that when the shooting occurred, Scout was having a mental breakdown and posed no threat to officers.
Scout, who identified as nonbinary and intersex, was president of the school’s Pride Alliance.
The Schultz family claimed the Georgia Tech police officer who shot Scout had not received proper crisis intervention training, unlike the other officers who responded, reports CNN. They alleged their child’s death was “the result of Georgia Tech’s and the State of Georgia’s failure over time to properly train their personnel to act in such a way as to prevent the exclusion of persons such as Scott Schultz from the safety to which all students were entitled on the campus of Georgia Tech,” reports the Georgia Voice.
Georgia Tech will pay the Schultz family $1 million, which, according to CNN, is one of the highest settlements of its kind in the state against a campus police agency in an officer-involved shooting.
The shooting also prompted changes at the school.
Two weeks after the tragedy, the Georgia Tech Student Government Association voted to approve an additional $1 million of funding to be put towards mental health services on campus.
Additionally, campus police officers are now required to carry Tasers and complete 40 hours of Crisis Intervention Training. Georgia Tech’s LGBTQIA Resource Center has also been expanded.
An attorney for the Schultz family praised the school for its efforts to amicably resolve the lawsuit and implement changes.
If you or a loved one are struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can text TALK to 741741 or initiate an online chat at suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat/. Additional resources can also be found at SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources.
