Minneapolis to Compensate Chiasher Vue’s Family with $700,000 Following His Tragic Demise

The agreement reached between the city of Minneapolis and the family members involved a substantial settlement of $700,000. This resolution comes in response to the incident where the family was locked inside two police cars while their father was fatally shot by officers. The family had attempted to intervene and offer assistance in calming their father down, but their efforts were disregarded.

In December 2019, a federal judge declared that the officers were justified in their actions as Chiasher Vue, the father, had pointed a rifle at them. However, the family filed a lawsuit against the police, claiming that they had been unlawfully and unconstitutionally detained that night. Chamee Vue and her brothers, Hailee and Nou Vue, were confined within the police cars during the incident. Following the shooting, they were held in interrogation rooms for hours and subjected to police questioning.

Chamee expressed her frustration, explaining that she was unable to leave the car and provide reassurance to her father. A significant contributing factor to the tragedy was the language barrier, as Chiasher Vue had limited proficiency in English, and few officers present that night were able to communicate effectively in Hmong. Hailee Vue hopes that the Hmong community will gain an understanding of their family’s ordeal and that their case will serve as a lesson for future policing practices.

Hailee emphasized, “I just don’t want any other family to go through what the four of us went through.”

Since the killing of Chiasher Vue, the Minneapolis police have implemented a policy change regarding the treatment of witnesses, emphasizing the need for constitutional procedures. Although the police stated that this alteration was not directly related to the Vue case, the Vue siblings find solace in the change. The revised policy explicitly states that individuals who have not been charged with a crime and are not held on probable cause have the freedom to leave at any time.

The family asserts that Chiasher Vue was experiencing a mental health crisis and untreated depression on the night of his death, which occurred just months before the tragic murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, sparking global protests. It is worth noting that one of the officers involved in Floyd’s killing was of Hmong American descent.

In Chiasher Vue’s case, an evening of drinking and karaoke escalated when, amidst a series of arguments, he fired multiple shots at a wall inside a house. His son subsequently dialed 911. An autopsy later revealed that Chiasher Vue had a blood alcohol level of 0.20 at the time of the incident.

According to squad car footage, Nou Vue pleaded with an unidentified officer, stating, “Look, my dad is mentally ill. Just let me and my little sister go talk to him. We can talk him out.” The officer responded by denying their request to exit the squad car.

Soon after, when Vue emerged from the house brandishing a rifle, a rapid exchange of gunfire ensued between him and the officers. While investigators were unable to determine who fired the first shot, Vue sustained 13 gunshot wounds.