Posted on 06/09/2006 7:38:19 AM PDT by VRing
A Stockbridge couple whose home was mistakenly raided by Henry County Police last year as they sought a drug suspect is seeking $8 million in damages from the incident.
In a lawsuit filed last month in Superior Court against county officials and police, Roy and Belinda Baker say they were roused out of bed by police who used a battering ram to knock down their door and threw concussive grenades into their home around 1 a.m. Sept. 30.
“The Law Enforcement Defendants accosted the Bakers in the hallway to their bedroom, where they had been sleeping, and yelled at the Bakers, threatened, assaulted and unlawfully touched the Bakers, and placed the Bakers face down, at gunpoint ...” the suit says.
(Excerpt) Read more at henryherald.com ...
This is quite true; while one might choose to believe the claim of this PD that it will in fact "take steps to prevent this from happening in the future" what about all the PDs across the country that have made no such promise. They need a larger incentive than "oh, we might be embarrassed."
Prove it (which you cannot). Virtually all such suits, unless they are class actions, result either in dismissal or in settlements ten or more times less. It's the form, and would you be a sucker and actually claim "only your physical damages less betterment etc." knowing this will leave you with a small fraction of what you asked? $8 million claim is actually saying "City, this is the worst case possible." Unless the city has absolute morons for counsel, the worst case possible is about as likely to happen as you are to get struck by lightning.
Under current law, this is impossible and you know it. You are just getting great joy telling these people "no matter how shell shocked you were, go pound sand."
However it was not. They, the couple who suffered this calamity, are collateral damage of the incompetent's war on drugs, and I know of only a few ways to make incompetent competent. By threat of pain, by inspiring a healthy jealousy of the competent, or by applying onerous expense for incompetency.
Since we can't publicly whip the officers invloved in this miscue, nor does present social circumstance allow for the kind of healthy jealousy of which I speak, we are left with the last. And thanks to the couple for undertaking a difficult social duty.
It was a mistake in good faith while trying to apprehend a criminal.
There was no criminal intent here by law enforcement, only a cheap attempt to grab 8 million free bucks of they can get some idiots to award it to them.
Its always curious to me why they usually do these kind of raids at 11pm to 2am. Smalltown cops usually come over and do this on Saturday afternoons. And you know that these guys are doing overtime for a 1am raid. I think the couple deserves $250k...and it ought to come out of the cops budget over the next five years. Take it straight out of the overtime budget.
Not quite a good comparison: in the Pinto case, it was shown that a business decision was made, consistent with an evaluation of the risk/reward of producing a defectective product as opposed to a case of error/omission. The police will not be shown to have conspired/intended to go to the wrong house.
And, again, the problem is not the terror, embarassment, and deterent power of a mega-bucks settlement; it's the point that the ones who caused the pain and committed the error are NOT the ones who will pay....it will be John-Q Taxpayer, who are, as usual, the deep pockets as opposed to the ones who need to be penalized to "teach them a lesson"...that's the problem in Tort Law today (the "deep pockets" efforts, as opposed to precise penalties to the actual offenders).
You know what, I've tried to keep this on an intellectual level, but you seem to want to insult me in every post just because you don't like to admit that I have a valid point of view. I'm tired of dealing with a butthole (that would be you) who can't argue the point, but flames instead - want flame? go f... yourself you're too boring to continue this discussion with.
I had the pleasure and honor of meeting and chatting with Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF ret., on June 2nd at the Biplane Expo in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. There are always exceptions to the rule and Robin Olds is one bold 86-year-old Triple Ace and former Commandant of The Air Force Academy. He has almost every medal except the MOH.
He's a great American Hero!
I have never intentionally started a flame here at FR, but have found myself in the midst of one occasionally.
Even with the ether barrier, they can be quite uncomfortable and act like a dark cloud in one's day.
I'm beginning to learn that one must let the screamer, the frantic accuser and bomb thrower...go..walk away into the ether...disappear...peace...but keep an eye on the butthole's forum and see where he/she is from and where they've been since they fired at you.
I try not to start them, but occasionally when I'm really really bored I'll continue one. Oddly enought the most shrill screamers can be found on space threads - when you say that tax dollars to fund space exploration is a waste of money. (I don't get into evolution vs creationism threads at all) In this case I'm done with jackassthehump - may he rest in peace.
I'm not interested in big lawsuits and judgments. I'm interested in making these incompetent thugs stop the nonsense.
And don't forget, I advocate the people who made this mistake be fired. That is what would have happened to them in private business. (Real life)
BTW, they are suing for $8 million, not receiving it.
This whole "cowboy" attitude needs to stop. The purpose of government is to defend rights, nothing more.
So far, the suggestion that the stocks be revived for the perpetrating officers seems like the best (it would also give the local gay community a place to relive their... tnesions).
Ward Churchill called. He want his descriptive tag line for 9/11 back.
I do not think this word is applicable to this case.
Losing $8 million (again, the exact places to be cut should be in the hands of the aggrieved party) will focus their attention on the subject.
The cops aren't trained to do the work themselves, but they should be required to tote crap, serve drinks, etc. to the work crew (who should be informed that the cops will be in bigger trouble if they fall down on the job, and encouraged to take full advantage of the situation).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.