[wideawake]

How does this have anything to do with their liability?

One would have to argue that police acted with an almost-unprecedented degree of excessive force to transform a healthy heart into a damaged heart in the course of an armed traffic stop-and-hold.

That would very dramatic courtroom fare and would definitely enhance the plaintiff's chances of a favorable verdict as well as a much larger award.

[BearCub]

One would have to argue that police acted with an almost-unprecedented degree of excessive force to transform a healthy heart into a damaged heart in the course of an armed traffic stop-and-hold.

That would be a valid point if it mattered. I'm going to assume they sent an unhealthy heart over the edge by using excessive force. So what if his heart was unhealthy? It was their unreasonable actions that triggered his heart attack. It's not unlike the Atlanta olympic park bomber being held liable for the spectator that had a heart attack in the aftermath of the bomb scare.

There are two key points in this case: (1) the police used excessive force and (2) after being made aware of his medical condition they did nothing.

[BearCub]

My dad is a "heart patient," having had a couple of bypass surgeries. While he was in Chicago on business a number of years ago, some girl on the same floor of the hotel got beaten up by her boyfriend in the middle of the night. She crawled down the hall leaving a trail of blood and stopped at my dad's door and some others apparently trying to get help. They found her further down the hall unconscious.

So whose door did they come crashing through? Dad's. They threw him off the bed and handcuffed him.

He was ASLEEP! Cops are useless and for all I care they can all go get killed. We'll throw them a parade but at least we'll have gotten rid of them.