CLEVELAND — A jury in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court awarded $4.4 million to the family of the man who was fatally shot by Euclid police officer Matthew Rhodes in 2017.
The civil lawsuit against Rhodes was filed by Mary Stewart, the mother of Luke Stewart. The jury announced the verdict on Tuesday following deliberations.
"The City of Euclid and Euclid Police Department are aware of the decision made in the civil trial regarding Euclid Police Sergeant Matthew Rhodes. While we respect the judicial process, we are disappointed in the outcome of this trial and are currently evaluating our next course of action in this matter. Neither Mayor Holzheimer Gail’s office nor Euclid Police Department will be commenting any further or accepting any interviews at this time," the city wrote in a statement to 3News after the verdict.
Around 7 a.m. on March 13, 2017, Euclid officers responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle parked on South Lakeshore near East 215th Street. Stewart was in the car and police believed he was intoxicated. As Rhodes tried to get Stewart out of the vehicle, there was a struggle as Stewart got behind the wheel and attempted to drive away. After unsuccessfully trying to use a taser on Stewart to get him to stop the car, Rhodes eventually shot him with his firearm.
In August of 2017, a Cuyahoga County Grand Jury declined to issue an indictment against Rhodes. One year later, a U.S. District Court judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Stewart's family. Judge James Gwin said it was a "close and difficult question" whether Rhodes used excessive force when he shot the 23-year-old Stewart.
Gwin concluded that deadly force was warranted because of the risk Rhodes and others faced from Stewart's erratic driving. The ruling said Stewart continued driving despite Rhodes having punched and used a stun gun on him.
Luke Stewart's family never stopped believing that the shooting on March 13, 2017 was wrong.
"For us, when we close our eyes and think about Luke being killed, and being shot five times, three times in the chest, once in the palm of his hand, and once in the neck, there’s no way that should not appear to be excessive," Stewart's cousin Jocelyn Smith told 3News during a Black Lives Matter rally the family organized in 2020.
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