A Vietnamese man was awarded $11 million in compensation after being shot by police last year, leaving him paralyzed.

According to a lawsuit filed in San Jose, California, on January 3, 2014, police were called to Hung Lam's home after receiving information that he was planning to commit suicide.

He held the phone in one hand and a knife to his stomach in the other. A neighbor tried to calm Lam down.

As soon as Officer Dondi West arrived, she rushed towards Mr. Lam and shouted, demanding that he “put the knife down” and “get on the floor.” However, Mr. Lam continued arguing with his neighbor and paid no attention to the officer.

Hung Lam (in a wheelchair) answers the press at the representative lawyer's office in Oakland, California, USA, on December 22. Photo: Mercurynews

When she got within 5 meters of him, Ms. West fired two shots into Mr. Lam’s back, damaging his aorta, lungs, and kidneys. Despite being rushed to the hospital and undergoing surgery, Mr. Lam was left permanently paralyzed in both legs.

In his complaint, Lam asserted that when the incident occurred, he was merely holding a knife and threatening to cut himself. A neighbor also confirmed that he did not threaten the policewoman.

After a three-week trial, a federal jury on December 22 found that Ms. West had reacted poorly to the confrontation and bore most of the blame. The jury awarded Mr. Lam $11.3 million in economic and non-economic damages, the largest award in San Jose history.

Hung Lam came to the US in 2012, opened his own restaurant and then continued working in the culinary industry. He is also a talented dancer.

“I’m very happy,” Hung Lam, 38, said at his lawyer’s office with his sister Kathy Lam and mother. But he said no amount of money could give him back his legs. “I won’t be able to walk for the rest of my life.”

According to VNE