K’aun Green, 23, who was shot by San Jose, CA, police officers in a case of mistaken identity three years ago, has been awarded a full football scholarship to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, KTVU reports.
“It just boosts my spirits a whole lot,” Green told the media outlet. “Just believing in myself and just fighting back from the brink of death.”
Green said he received a half-dozen scholarship offers.
Then a 20-year-old student at Contra Costa College, Green was shot four times by San Jose police officer Mark McNamara in 2022. Green had disarmed a man at city eatery, and police fired at Green as he exited.
The San Jose Police Department acknowledged it was wrong in assuming that Green was involved in a murder that took place the same day and had nothing to do with an incident at the restaurant where he was shot, La Victoria Taqueria.
There was no apology offered for the incident. The city has refused to settle a federal lawsuit filed by Green.
In 2023, McNamara resigned after the police chief discovered racist texts on the officer’s phone.
“It’s a very exasperating thing to go through,” Green said. “But it just showed me that nothing is insurmountable.”
McNamara’s attorney, Susan Coleman, and San Jose city attorney Nora Frimann said McNamara and the city are not responsible for the shooting because the officer had “qualified immunity” when he shot Green in the stomach, arm, and knee.
“Right now I’m in therapy, so that kind of helps,” Green said. “And I’m working out three times a day, trying to get myself back together. It’s still hard. It’s still a hard process. I still have nightmares and, you know, it’s a never-ending battle.”
Besides playing football, he plans to study kinesiology. “I’m excited,” he said. “I’m excited to finally put some things behind me.”
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