Posted on 02/25/2012 12:36:22 PM PST by nickcarraway
When Rodolfo Valladares walked into an Aventura Bank of America, he simply wanted to cash his $100 check. A jumpy bank teller, thinking he looked like a robber, hit a silent alarm.
Police from Aventura and Miami-Dade rushed to the bank, ordered everyone to the floor as they physically detained Valladares, handcuffing him and kicking him in the head, his lawyer said. He was let go when bank employees and police realize they made a mistake.
For his troubles, Valladares soon will be getting a much bigger check.
A Miami-Dade jury has awarded Valladares $3.3 million in damages after ruling that the bank was negligent in triggering the silent alarm, then failing to cancel it when employees realized he was not a robber.
Valladares, 50, a former mortgage company loan officer, still suffers from headaches, blurred vision and post-traumatic stress disorder, said his attorney Russell S. Adler.
Bank of America plans to appeal the verdict, believing their employees acted reasonably.
"We are disappointed,'' said bank spokesperson Shirley Norton.
The July 3, 2008 incident happened at a time when bank tellers were on high alert because of a warning about a male Hispanic wearing a Miami Heat hat had been robbing banks in the area.
Bank of America's corporate security had emailed a surveillance photo and a description of the robber.
When Valladares – wearing a Miami Heat cap - walked in, teller Meylin Garcia activated the alarm, though she did not have the photo on hand.
If she had, it would have shown the differences between Valladares and the bank robber, his lawyers said.
The robber in the bulletin was in his 60s and weighed about 145 pounds. Valladares was 46 at the time and weighed more than 200 pounds.
(Excerpt) Read more at orlandosentinel.com ...
$3.3 million in damages??
His damage is that much?? So, apparently they are saying that he has somehow lost $3.3 million??
This is a good example of court system gone berserk. With 10 times as many lawyers/person compared to other industrialized countries, I guess we need to create work for them.
Maybe if the Illegal had cooperated with the police he would not have gotten so bumped up.
-——still suffers from headaches, blurred vision and post-traumatic stress disorder,-——
Granted 3.3 million is a lot of dough......for pain and suffering....maybe loss of income and dimished earning capacity
Wondering why he didn’t sue the cops for kicking him in the head which seems to be the reason for injuries .....oh wait...he would not win...
He was wrongfully arrested, and he was injured in the process. He should have named the police department as a co-defendant. The man was minding his own damn business and ended up hurt because someone got jumpy. I would have sued their ass too.
He potentially could have headaches and blurred vision for the rest of his life. 3.3 million minus the huge cut that the leaches will take is reasonable. What’s wrong here is that the bank is paying not the little girl officer that kicked him.
$3.3 million in damages??
His damage is that much?? So, apparently they are saying that he has somehow lost $3.3 million??...........................................................................................................................................................................
Let me kick you in the head for no reason and we will see how much you think it’s worth!
So how much of that $3.3M check does he get to keep and how much does the Shyster get for winning the verdict?
I didn’t see anything to indicate he was an illegal immigrant.
Where in the article does it say he he is in the country illegaly? Get a clue, just because someone has a spanish surname it doesn’t make him an illegal alien. The teller who tripped the alarm also has a spanish surname, you didn’t wonder about her status. By the way my last name is Castillo, care to check my status?
Sounds OK to me. This guy did absolutely nothing out of line and apparently was legal, so stick it to the bank and cops. Motivate ‘em to think next time.
“I didn’t see anything to indicate he was an illegal immigrant.”
They don’t report that anymore. But given B of A’s famous recruiting of illegal customers and the fact that the guy didn’t respond to police (i.e., didn’t understand English), it’s pretty obvious that he wasn’t here legally. Sometimes you just have to read between the lines.
Read between what lines? No where in the article does it state that he didn’t respond to police orders. I went back and read it twice. You must have some new technology that allows you to read crap that just aint there.
-——the fact that the guy didn’t respond to police (i.e., didn’t understand English), it’s pretty obvious that he wasn’t here legally——
LOL.....I see you have never been to little Havana in Miami
even the menu in Mickey D ‘s are in Spanish and English is in the subtitles
Hardly anybody there speaks english and they were were born here....
“still suffers from headaches, blurred vision and post-traumatic stress disorder”
Us middle aged white guys call that “morning”.
“Read between what lines? No where in the article does it state that he didn’t respond to police orders. I went back and read it twice. You must have some new technology that allows you to read crap that just aint there.”
Whatever. I’ve had encounters with cops when they thought I was a felony suspect. Not a big deal. Keep your hands in sight, and listen to what they say. About the the only time that they roughen you up for no reason is when they think you’ve killed a cop. It’s just unfortunate that they didn’t have a Spanish speaking cop go to the scene, or we wouldn’t be reading about this.
Don’t worry after the lawyers get done taking their cut Valladares will be lucky if he still has the $100 from the check he was trying to cash!
Ain't been out of the house much in the last decade, have you? There are over 800 videos on youtube alone of out-of-control cops beating folks senseless, killing their dogs, or shooting them for no reason. Get in the REAL WORLD!
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