Chaska to pay $1.75 million settlement in Highway 212 shooting death

CHASKA, Minn. (KMSP) - The City of Chaska has agreed to a $1.75 million settlement with the family of Dawn Pfister, the woman killed by a Chaska police officer in 2014.

According to the family’s attorney, Bob Bennett, $1 million will go to Pfister’s family, including her two children. The remainder will cover attorney’s fees.

Pfister and her boyfriend, Matthew Serbus, led police on a high speed chase on Highway 212 through Carver County in February 2014 which resulted in the fatal shooting.

Police are recorded saying they believed Pfister was being held hostage by Serbus, who pulled out a knife while holding Pfister close to him. Serbus ignored police demands to drop the knife and was shot several times by four different officers.

As Serbus went down, dash cam video showed Pfister reached for her boyfriend’s knife.
                                                                                                                                                   
The officer that shot Pfister, Sgt. Brady Juell, said he believed the woman was coming at them with the knife. The family argued that she was simply trying to get the knife away from Serbus.

In 2015, Pfister’s family filed a lawsuit against Juell and the city of Chaska. A judge recently dismissed Juell from the case.