San Jose ordered to pay $11.3 million to mentally ill man shot by cop

San Jose must pay $11.3 million to a mentally disturbed man who was shot in the back by a police officer while standing on his front lawn holding a knife, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

Hung Lam, a Vietnamese immigrant in his mid-30s, survived the shooting but was left paralyzed and must use a wheelchair, said his lawyer, John Burris.

The officer, Dondi West, testified that Lam had first held the knife to his own throat but then began walking backward in her direction, still holding the knife and causing her to fear for her life when she shot him. But the Ninth U.S.