Posted on 01/13/2018 8:01:22 AM PST by RideForever
SEATTLE — A federal judge has upheld a $15 million verdict against police in a small Washington state city who shot and killed an unarmed black man, in a ruling that blistered the city’s lawyers for suggesting jurors ruled against law enforcement only because they didn’t want to be known for siding with white officers.
The ruling Thursday from U.S. District Judge Barbara Rothstein found that the jury had plenty of reasons to conclude that the shooting of Leonard Thomas during a 2013 SWAT operation in the Tacoma suburb of Lakewood was outrageous, The Seattle Times reported. Thomas was unarmed, hadn’t threatened anyone and was standing on his porch with his 4-year-old son, whom he had agreed to release, when a sniper killed him.
(Excerpt) Read more at tdn.com ...
“In addition to $8.6 million in compensatory damages, the jury imposed $6.5 million in punitive damages: $3 million against Police Chief Mike Zaro, who was in command that night and who gave the orders that led to the shooting; $2 million against Sgt. Brian Markert, the sniper; and $1.5 million against Officer Mike Wiley, who led the assault team that blew down the back door of Thomas’ house and killed the family dog, Baxter.”
So when do the murder indictments come down? Have any of the cops been fired?
L
Another SWAT disaster. Reforming and de-militarizing police forces, better monitoring of cops to weed out the trigger-happy ones, and real consequences for PDs and cops found to have wrong in these situations are long overdue and would be supported by people and politicians all across the political spectrum.
Maybe the guy should have actually released the child instead of “agreeing” to.
$15 million is ridiculous. Seriously doubt the decedent’s demise wrought damage to the plaintiffs worth anything near that amount.
Whatever, Janet.
Punitive damages for f**king up the militarized project.
Police need to follow the Supreme Court Ruling that sets a bright line in that the police have no obligation to protect individual citizens. They do not need to respond to these situations until they are over and they can safely take a report. (see CASTLE ROCK v. GONZALES [04-278])
Can the responding(Defendant) SWAT officers sue the City for lack of or improper training?
New acronym:
“PUII”
Posting under the influence of intoxicants.
Back away slowly from the keyboard. /s
Actually, you’re right.
Eff the cops: Let’s put bullets in their heads instead. /s
That’s what you meant right? Oh, you mean that the damages should be lower commensurate with YOUR sense of their loss and without regard to sending a message to police agencies?
Geebus, dude.
Lakewood is a suburb south of Tacoma, WA, near Joint Base McChord/Ft. Lewis.
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