Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

California man paralyzed from run-in with police gets $20 million settlement
AP ^ | 11 July 2023 | TRÂN NGUYỄN

Posted on 07/23/2023 6:44:48 PM PDT by Theoria

A Northern California man who was left paralyzed after he was slammed to the ground during a traffic stop won a $20 million settlement, one of the largest in the state’s history, officials announced Tuesday.

Gregory Gross, an Army veteran who lives in Yuba City, sued the police department in 2022 after police officers used “pain compliance” techniques and expressed disbelief when he repeatedly cried out, “I can’t feel my legs.” Police officers also dismissed Gross when he said, “I can’t breathe,” while being held facedown on the lawn outside a hospital, video released by Gross’s lawyers shows.

Gross was accused of driving drunk and causing a slow-speed collision in April 2020.

Gross was left with a broken neck, and he underwent two surgeries to fuse his spine. He said the officers’ use of force left him unable to walk or care for himself, and he now needs round-the-clock nursing care for the rest of his life.

“We are not against the police,” said Attorney Moseley Collins, who represents Gross. “We are for the police, but we are against police brutality when it occurs.”

(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; US: California
KEYWORDS: california; donutwatch; greggross; jbt; litigation; police; settlement; yubacity
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-40 last
To: dragnet2
That man is old enough to know not to mess with cops when they have you handcuffed. If he had complied peacefully, he would have been booked, probably released in the morning.

21 posted on 07/23/2023 8:38:49 PM PDT by Governor Dinwiddie (LORD, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: Governor Dinwiddie
That man is old enough to know not to mess with cops when they have you handcuffed.

Sure, it makes it real easy to eff someone over while they're handcuffed.

22 posted on 07/23/2023 9:04:53 PM PDT by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]

To: dragnet2
What happened to the man is not right. But it's the same as if he had been bitten
while playing with a venomous snake.
Patient:   “Doctor it hurts when I do this.”

Doctor:   “Then don't do that.”


23 posted on 07/23/2023 9:41:05 PM PDT by Governor Dinwiddie (LORD, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: Theoria

How about the time a couple years ago where the Weld Co cops stopped that woman and put her in a cop car that was parked on the train tracks?
Guess what happened. Yup, train came along and took that cop car slick off the crossing...WITH THE WOMAN IN IT!

Or how about the time a few years ago where the cops did a wheel chair bound vet on his own property.

Or a year or so ago where they took down an elder man, who was a navy vet, and while they took him down they caused him to hit his head on his back bumper-it killed him. The old guy was suffering from age related dementia and did not understand what the hell was going on.

Each and every one of those incidents had several cops at eh scene.


24 posted on 07/23/2023 9:56:20 PM PDT by crz
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Theoria
It is very tough being a good cop these days. All cops have to deal with many of society's worst everyday. And they deal with a growing segment of the public who hate them.

The mentality of cops on the force pre-body cameras is hardcore. They have an impact on new recruits. So a young cop has to deal with a larger hostile public than in the past. They must deal with all the really bad criminals. And they have to deal with bullies in their own department who abuse “qualified immunity.”

To be a professional cop who obeys the law and protects and serves the public is extremely difficult. I don't know what the answer is? We need great cops but what do you with bullies in our police department that enjoy hurting people. You may need to rely on them to watch your back.

But at any rate a 65-year-old man who is tipsy and caused a low speed accident, who is handcuffed behind his back, not threatening strong and armed police officers does not deserve to have his neck broken, beaten and paralyzed for walking too slow.

For Christ sakes he was a veteran.

25 posted on 07/23/2023 10:16:36 PM PDT by daviscupper
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Governor Dinwiddie

The cop who broke the victim’s neck no longer works at that department...His actions cost his job, cost the tax payers 20-30 million and destroyed some guy’s life. This is what happens when a cop overreacts towards a suspect who’s already handcuffed and certainly no threat to the officer.


26 posted on 07/23/2023 11:50:50 PM PDT by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: Theoria

Saw this. It’s disgusting. When is it legal to use deadly force to protect an incapacitated individual against assault?


27 posted on 07/24/2023 2:51:31 AM PDT by wgmalabama (Censored !)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Governor Dinwiddie

I hope the police beat you into permanent disability well just because you j walk. It’s a crime punishable by great and permanent injury.


28 posted on 07/24/2023 2:53:27 AM PDT by wgmalabama (Censored !)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: null and void

The bootlickers will change their tune when their wives, kids, parents are body slammed by some cop who just did it for fun. Until it’s them the cops are the good guys. They aren’t. The revenue thugs with serious control issues.


29 posted on 07/24/2023 2:59:28 AM PDT by wgmalabama (Censored !)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: wgmalabama

Do you really think that will suffice?


30 posted on 07/24/2023 6:38:57 AM PDT by null and void (Intelligence has limits, while gullibility doesn't. ~ SunkenCiv)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]

To: sport
They were caught on video tape yukking it up while she sat suffering. And they were congratulating themselves on how brave and bad they were./p>

Yucking it up including a special spot in reviewing the tape where one said listen for the snap when I broke her arm.

Hilarious.

31 posted on 07/24/2023 6:42:33 AM PDT by null and void (Intelligence has limits, while gullibility doesn't. ~ SunkenCiv)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: dragnet2
The cop who broke the victim’s neck no longer works at that department...

Did he get a job one county over?

32 posted on 07/24/2023 6:45:40 AM PDT by null and void (Intelligence has limits, while gullibility doesn't. ~ SunkenCiv)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: Governor Dinwiddie

“But it’s the same as if he had been bitten while playing with a venomous snake. “

Well, now you are on to something here. Because the intelligence of a snake is pretty accurate and applies well.


33 posted on 07/24/2023 6:47:43 AM PDT by Openurmind (The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world it leaves to its children. ~ D. Bonhoeffer)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: null and void

I doubt it. The police are out of control. Every city, town, county knows the criminals in the area but we are constantly seeing the police brutally assault the citizens. Why is that. The response needed I will self censor.


34 posted on 07/24/2023 9:56:02 AM PDT by wgmalabama (Censored !)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]

To: wgmalabama

I think we are thinking the same response.

Bad times coming, remain vigilant.


35 posted on 07/24/2023 10:05:37 AM PDT by null and void (Intelligence has limits, while gullibility doesn't. ~ SunkenCiv)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 34 | View Replies]

To: null and void

No doubt but for future reference we both agree. If that was my father, I would hold the entire cops family responsible. Until that occurs they will continue. Make them choose between their brutality and brutality coming back at them last. Amazing sight angles at cemeteries.


36 posted on 07/24/2023 11:40:10 AM PDT by wgmalabama (Censored !)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]

To: Theoria

Good, now he should move away because they’re certain to retaliate. They hate looking stupid.


37 posted on 07/24/2023 6:00:28 PM PDT by wastedyears (The left would kill every single one of us and our families if they knew they could get away with it)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wgmalabama
The bootlickers will change their tune when their wives, kids, parents are body slammed by some cop who just did it for fun. Until it’s them the cops are the good guys. They aren’t. The revenue thugs with serious control issues.

No, no, no, and not just no, but hell no. They'll make up any and every insane, stupid, nonsensical excuse to justify their child/spouse/parent/sibling being tortured by jack-booted thugs with badges. Those types of people cannot be convinced otherwise.

38 posted on 07/24/2023 8:53:51 PM PDT by wastedyears (The left would kill every single one of us and our families if they knew they could get away with it)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]

To: Governor Dinwiddie

“That man is old enough to know not to mess with cops when they have you handcuffed. If he had complied peacefully, he would have been booked, probably released in the morning.”

The PIGS had the victim handcuffed and then they tortured him with ‘pain compliance’, broke his neck, and then abused him AFTER he reported being critically injured. Then they mistreated a patient with a spinal injury IN THE HOSPITAL.

And you’re actually worse than the PIGS because you endorse and celebrate this torture being carried out by the police. Disgusting.


39 posted on 07/28/2023 9:13:41 AM PDT by MeganC (There is nothing feminine about feminism. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]

To: Theoria

More on this atrocity:

https://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/how-yuba-city-pays-a-17m-judgment-city-insurance-to-cover-settlement-in-ycpd-incident/article_b0d68b12-275a-11ee-8d82-2377ef6cc76b.html

After an encounter with Yuba City police officers left Yuba City resident Gregory Gross paralyzed, Yuba City is liable for most of the $20 million settlement recently awarded to Gross to pay for his injuries and subsequent care.

Yuba City’s portion of this settlement is around $17 million while the remaining $3 million will be paid out by other defendants in the lawsuit, such as the individual officers involved. However, the city is largely self-insured for these types of liabilities, Yuba City Finance Director Spencer Morrison said.

According to Appeal archives, on April 12, 2020, Gross was being arrested under suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. During the arrest, Yuba City Police Officer Joshua Jackson threw Gross’ face first to the ground, breaking his neck and paralyzing him while his hands were handcuffed behind his back, Gross’ attorney Moseley Collins said.

Gross was diagnosed with quadriplegia the night of the incident and required two spine fusion surgeries at University of California, Davis Medical Center, Collins said previously.

As a result of his injuries during the incident, Gross has some degree of paralysis in all four of his limbs and faces significant paralysis in his hands. Collins previously said that despite undergoing surgery, Gross’ spine was irrevocably damaged.

The lawsuit against the Yuba City Police Department also names Yuba City as an employer for the department, making the city liable for damages.

Morrison told the Appeal that the city is self-insured for liability, property, or workers’ compensation due to a lack of affordable coverage in the private market.

“There is no way our local government agency general funds can afford the catastrophic losses of a large flood event, facility fire, or a large award in a liability case, so local government agencies address these risks by becoming members of a joint powers authority that pools risk among agencies in a region,” Morrison said in an email. “The annual cost is much less than trying to cover our unique set of risk exposures with traditional insurance that includes members of the public or private industry/businesses in the same way we citizens insure our autos, health and homes.”

Yuba City is a member of the Northern California Cities Self Insurance Fund, which includes 21 other cities in a coverage agreement for matters exceeding $50,000 and up to $500,000. Morrison said that Yuba City’s self-insured retention is $50,000 while $500,000 matches the joint powers authority limit.

For matters that exceed $500,000 in liability coverage, the Northern California Cities Self Insurance Fund is a member of an excess coverage joint powers authority, the California Joint Powers Risk Management Authority.

This occurrence based risk retention program provides up to $40 million in coverage after the Northern California Cities Self Insurance Fund pays the retained limit of $1 million, Morrison said.

In the case of Gross’ settlement, it will be paid out of existing funds in either risk pool or through reinsurance underwriters that the California Joint Powers Risk Management Authority uses, Morrison said. However, the member agencies will be expecting increases in rates for potentially years to come due to this experience.


40 posted on 07/28/2023 9:15:15 AM PDT by MeganC (There is nothing feminine about feminism. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-40 last

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.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson