Posted on 09/22/2012 1:14:01 PM PDT by Politicalmom
The April verdict by a Frederick County jury that awarded $620,000 to a Taneytown family after their dog was shot by a sheriff's deputy was upheld by a Montgomery County judge.
An attorney for the Frederick County Sheriff's Office argued that the jury's verdict should be set aside because it went against the weight of the evidence presented during the seven-day trial. Michael B. Rynd asked Judge Marielsa Bernard to either set aside the verdict or grant his motion for a new trial.
Bernard heard the case after Frederick County judges recused themselves.
She denied Rynd's motion, saying it would be inappropriate to substitute her judgment for the jury's verdict. She issued her ruling Monday.
Rynd also filed a motion to have the $620,000 judgment lowered.
Bernard agreed with Rynd that Maryland law caps damages for veterinary bills at $7,500 and reduced the original $20,000 for those costs.
The rest of the award, $600,000, was for mental anguish, pain and suffering, according to court records.
Rynd argued that portions of that amount should have been decreased because the jury awarded the exact same amount to each of the two homeowners, Roger and Sandi Jenkins. Sandi Jenkins seemed more upset during testimony at trial, so the damages should be less for her husband, Rynd said.
Bernard denied that part of the motion.
On April 3, a six-person jury found Deputy First Class Timothy Brooks violated the Jenkinses' rights under the Maryland Constitution when he shot their chocolate Labrador retriever, Brandi, on Jan. 9, 2010, while he and Deputy First Class Nathan Rector were at their Bullfrog Road home looking for their son, who was wanted on a civil warrant.
(Excerpt) Read more at fredericknewspost.com ...
Read the whole thread so you know what you’re mad about.
Disregarding the straw man thrown unceremoniously into the room, how many more dogs do you think *this* cop will ever shoot again?
It used to be a highly respected position one got to after years of positive service. Today it’s ‘executor of the board’s will’/enforcer/lapdog.
At least in many cases we read about. And we come full circle to electing good people vs idiots yet again.
The courts would also strike down as racist, any test which didn't have identical passing rates for white and black teachers.
Fire up the Diebold’s folks, it’s voting time again!
Anyone here thing my position is not conservative?
Donna, you really should stop. You can’t win this.
You’ve just described the liberal mindset, in a nutshell.
Now consider the current ‘opposing view’ in light of that.
I’m sticking with you.
I thought I was replying to another thread, about the teacher’s strike. Yes, the police unions would never allow the cop to be personally penalized, which is why police unions MUST be abolished.
As is the prison staff hierarchy, it’s no longer what you know, it’s who you know and what connections you have.
My dad was a guard for 30+ years.
Many of my uncles, cousins, one boyfriend and the ex all worked there and what is done within those walls, regarding “promotion” and “power” is an abomination to skill and hard work.
It’s *all* about politics and ass kissing.
*Rarely* is the best man chosen over the more ‘politically useful’ one.
I don’t know that this was so much about shooting the dog, but more about the behaviour of the deputies. It seems that they presented that gung ho, “we win you lose, loser” attitude that is slipping into too many departments via young aggressive attitude types.
Who in hell gave these keystone cops the right to invade a home after the family was gone? Was there a warrant? Doesn’t look like it. You don’t just go rummaging through a person’s house because you feel like it.
At first I did think the settlement was way out of line, but I now think it was to punish the department. And yes, that means the taxpayer pays. So Mr. and Mrs. taxpayer, send the buffoons you hired, off with a pink slip and a kick in the butt.
Until the taxpayer starts treating these mediocre, midlevel bureaucrats like PAID EMPLOYEES who serve at the taxpayer’s wishes, then this stuff will continue to happen.
I’d like to be at the next township meeting when the board members have to tell the residents that the blockheads in their cop shop just rampaged through the proverbial china shop and broke every piece of crystal in the place, and now this is what its going to cost. “Dear fellow residents, do we buy ANOTHER BOND that we can’t pay, or do we boost your income and property taxes to cover that nut?”
You should spend a day at the local prison complex.
You haven’t seen ‘enforced equality’ and ‘quota hires’ until you’ve been there.
Wanna get rich quick?
Get hired as a guard just because you’re a woman, feel “threatened” by the inevitable ‘sexual harassment” dished out by the all-male inmate population and then sue the state and live out the rest of your life in “traumatized luxury”.
[or you can ‘stick it out’ and leapfrog promotions over more qualified men because you’re ~not~ a man and therefore deserve preferential treatment...*or* you’ll sue]
Great...now I can’t get Alice Cooper’s “Prettiest Cop On The Block” out of my head....LOL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtUAIHxqX-E
Cops are held personally responsible for their illegal actions. They go to jail all the time for wrongly shooting people.
Any cop who shoots a threatening child w/o first considering alternatives would have a serious legal problem. Most pet dogs are nothing more than threatening children. I will agree that dogs obviously kept for security & intimidation are exceptions.
I totally diagree with your assertion that there would be far fewer police if they were held responsible for their illegal actions. What there would be is fewer “shoot first & ask questions later” police.
I do agree that if it is PD policy to shoot even slightly aggressive dogs, then the officer acted appropriately & is blameless. If so, the policy should be changed.
Would a policeman who owns dogs immediately shoot a dog on private property? I seriously doubt it. Most dog owners would go out of their way to avoid harming the dog. Was the reason for the police visit so important as to warrant killing the occupants or destroying private property?
There are 39% of households in the USA with at lease one dog, & 74M dogs owned by Americans. Police will encounter dogs in 4 of 10 households they approach. They have a responsibility to deal with pets in a humane & considerate manner unless the dog owner encourages violence. That might not be law, but it is the right thing to do.
Cops should remember the old adage - be nice to people on your climb upwards because you will meet them again on your way down. Pensions and job prospects are going into the toilet when austerity hits. People are not going to be well-disposed toward public employee unions when it's crunch time.
I want to live in a state that has those common sense laws! This needs to be a trend, suing the crap out of the individual, the department and whomever is in charge and make it hurt until it stops.
Dogs protect us and give us more love and devotion than, well, than I've ever deserved and we must give as good as we get, so that maybe we will someday be worthy of the gift God has given us in these beautiful animals.
The judge and jury got this one right sticking it to the Nazis like that.
“I totally diagree with your assertion that there would be far fewer police if they were held responsible for their illegal actions. What there would be is fewer shoot first & ask questions later police.”
I fail to understand how placing the responsibility on the shoulder of the cops while absolving/ignoring or minimizing their superiors policies will result in anything but mass migration to another area of employment.
That is an easy way to get full dictator type policies at the top of the food chain IMO. When a cop does stuff like this, his superiors have to be accountable as well. Moreso because they are responsible for having such a cop under them. By policy or by dereliction of duty.
A good cop will get totally screwed.
If we allow cops to come onto our property, kill whatever because they can and then let them get away with it, why should anyone believe it would it stop with just killing our dogs?
Everyone should be held to the same standards, the same laws, but those with greater responsibility need to be held to a higher standard, not a lower one.
We have more than enough history to see where that goes. All aboard the cattle cars, everyone? Better idea: Stop it now!
Hoorah for the judge and jury and the Bill of Rights!
The shooter should pay, not the taxpayers.
Quite right. What they are creating leads somewhere we don't want to go.
If this verdict slows or stops their "progress", then we, the people, are getting a bargain.
This verdict should help common sense made a comeback, insanity is way too expensive.
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