SAN DIEGO (AP) — The San Diego City Council on Tuesday approved a $30 million payment to the family of a 16-year-old killed by police in one of the largest such settlements in U.S. history.
The settlement exceeds the $27 million the city of Minneapolis agreed to pay the family of George Floyd, whose May 2020 murder by a police officer who knelt on his neck sparked a nationwide racial reckoning.
Surveillance and body-worn camera footage from Jan. 28 showed Konoa Wilson running away from someone who pulled a gun and fired at him in a downtown train station. As he exited the station, Wilson encountered San Diego Police Officer Daniel Gold.
In the lawsuit against the city and Gold, the family alleged the officer “instantly, without any warning,” fired two shots at Wilson as he ran by, striking him in the upper body. The lawsuit identified Wilson as Black.
Councilmember Henry Foster III became emotional when speaking about the shooting, sharing his fears about the dangers that Black youth face: “If only you could understand the fear I feel when my son leaves the house."
"Kanoa’s life was taken while fleeing from gunshots, and he found himself running into the arms of a police officer. This should not have happened,” Foster said.
He also questioned the state of reform since Floyd’s death: “Where’s the progress? Where’s the protect and serve? Better yet, where’s the accountability?”
He challenged Mayor Todd Gloria and Police Chief Scott Wahl to do better.
Lt. Cesar Jimenez, a spokesperson for the San Diego Police Department, said Gold is currently on an administrative assignment while the shooting is under investigation.
The department in releasing the body camera footage stated that officers found a gun under Wilson’s clothing as they administered first aid, though the teen did not pull it out before being shot by Gold.
The lawsuit said Gold did not announce he was a police officer until after shooting him in the back. It said Wilson was running past the officer “in an attempt to get to a place of safety."
Wilson was pronounced dead less than an hour after he was taken to the hospital.
The family's attorney, Nick Rowley, said the settlement “brings some semblance of accountability, but not closure.”
“You don’t get closure when your child is shot in the back for doing nothing wrong by the people who are supposed to be protecting him,” he said in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press. "We hope that Konoa’s story will send a message across the country: Cities will pay dearly when officers violate the law and take a life without justification.”
This photo, taken from a body-worn camera video, shows the moment before a San Diego Police Officer fatally shot 16-year-old Konoa Wilson as he ran away from gunfire on Jan. 28, 2025. (San Diego Police Department via AP)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had no time to hold a traditional news conference during a whirlwind, 36-hour trip across Europe this week, so he improvised.
For the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion of his country, Zelenskyy — who usually takes reporters’ questions in person while trotting the globe — communicated with the news media via group chat. While flying between London and Brussels, he answered a long list of questions from Ukrainian and international reporters, relaying audio clips on WhatsApp.
His chosen mode of communication was, if not unprecedented, at the very least extremely rare for a world leader.
The low drone of the aircraft blended with his hoarse, tired-sounding voice, yet his message cut through clearly: Amid uncertain negotiations to end the war, Ukraine, he said, cannot surrender land.
“Undoubtedly, Russia insists for us to give up territories,” he said in a crackling message late Monday. “According to the law, we don’t have such a right … and to be frank, we don’t have a moral right either.”
With the outlook for negotiations changing by the day, Zelenskyy’s team set out on a jam-packed schedule to shore up support in Europe.
Zelenskyy met the leaders of Britain, Germany and France in London, and the heads of NATO and the European Union in Brussels, before traveling on to Rome for talks with the Italian prime minister and Pope Leo XIV.
A key issue being discussed is whether Ukraine should cede Russian‑occupied territory in return for security guarantees, but the talks have been complicated by uncertainty about the Trump administration’s commitment to European security.
Since the start of the war, Zelenskyy has shown a desire to communicate in real-time in whatever way is necessary.
When Kyiv came under siege shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, Zelenskyy tried to reassure the public through what appeared to be a cellphone video with three top officials — perhaps his best-known address.
“We are all here,” he said at the time. “Our soldiers are here, the citizens of our country are all here protecting our independence, and we are going to continue to do so.”
Since then, Zelenskyy has made frequent communication a strategic priority in a sleep-defying cycle of video messages, remote speeches to Western parliaments and conferences, late-night posts and high-security public appearances.
Monday night’s WhatsApp exchange wound down as his plane landed in Brussels, just before he was whisked into his next round of meetings.
He asked reporters: “How did you like this format? If it works for you, then when we have the opportunity, we’ll share our thoughts and decisions this way again.”
It didn't take long. By Tuesday evening, Zelenskyy had sent reporters more audio messages on WhatsApp to explain how talks to end the war were proceeding with its Western allies.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, walks past Swiss guards as he arrives to meet with Pope Leo XIV in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pose on the doorstep of 10 Downing Street, London, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, following a meeting of the leaders inside. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, looks back at the media as he walks to meet Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Downing Street, London, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
