Sacramento pays $160k settlement in death of knife-wielding man on light rail train
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- Sacramento paid $160,000 to the father in the 2023 light rail shooting case.
- Federal lawsuit alleged officers failed to recognize mental crisis and intervene.
- Video shows Dante armed with a knife, officers used beanbag rounds then lethal shots.
The city of Sacramento reached a $160,000 settlement agreement with the father of a man who was shot to death by Sacramento police on a Regional Transit light rail train in August 2023.
The agreement, signed earlier this month, dismisses the federal lawsuit alleging officers should have known Dante Dwaine Day, 44, was having a mental crisis and called for intervention. On Aug. 15 2023, Dante died after he boarded a light rail train at Sacramento City College with a knife and was shot by police.
The lawsuit had been filed on behalf of Dante’s father, Derick Day, by Oakland civil rights attorney John Burris. Derick said on Thursday afternoon he still wishes the officers would have handled the situation better, citing the difference between a knife and gun.
“I just want the situation to be better for other people, if they will look into a situation where they can save a life rather than take a life,” Derick said.
A city spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
A 12-minute video of the incident, released by the police department weeks after the confrontation, showed Dante entering the train with a knife and walking to the front.
“Excuse me,” he told passengers. “Y’all got to excuse me. I don’t understand. Y’all got to excuse me.”
Passengers quickly exited and at least two people called 911. When officers arrived, they found Dante seated at one end of the rail car. They asked for his name and told him not to not grab the knife.
“Listen, we want everything and everyone to go home safe,” one officer told Dante. “I just need you to do everything that we tell you.
Dante pleaded with the officers in response, telling them he was scared of them. At certain points, he yelled and asked for help from “the Lord.”
“I’m scared of you all, bro,” Dante said on the video. “Please, please, please, sir. Please, I know you all got to do your job, but I’m scared of you all right now.”
Officers discussed using non-lethal force against Dante as he pulled the knife from his waistband and held it near his lap. After Dante stood up with the knife in his hand, one officer fired bean bags rounds at him.
Dante, still holding the knife, ran in the officers’ direction and more shots were fired. He went down, got up with the knife and was fired at again, according to the video. He later died at the scene.
