PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — It’s been nearly 4 years since the kidnapping and murder of Kaylee Sawyer. Now, her family reached a $2 million settlement with the Central Oregon Community College.
Her killer, Edwin Lara, worked at the Bend college as a campus public safety officer. Lawyers for the Sawyer family found that in the years before he killed Kaylee, there were several red flags with Lara the school failed to act on.
The lawyers also said the college was warned the public safety department was acting outside of their legal authority by making traffic stops and investigating crimes for which they had no proper training.
Kaylee’s mom, Juli Walden Van Cleave, told KOIN 6 News the settlement is a relief.
“There is a sense of peace now,” she said.
The Oregon state legislature passed Kaylee’s Law in 2019. That mandates campus security officers and their equipment do not resemble police uniforms and bans then from acting as law enforcement.
