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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsJudge Sides With Couple Carelessly Shot by Cops (to the tune of 4 million dollars)
http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/08/16/60365.htmThe Mendezes sued and U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald conducted a bench trial earlier this year. He issued a verdict in favor of the couple Tuesday, finding that the deputies' warrantless search of the shack was not reasonable.
Police failed to show any evidence that O'Dell was a resident of the property they raided, and thus they cannot justify the search as necessary to prevent O'Dell from escaping or harming the officers at the scene, according to the ruling.
"The shack had a single doorway," Fitzgerald wrote. "If O'Dell had been within the shack, he was trapped."
There was time for the deputies to get a warrant. A trapped O'Dell also posed little harm to officer safety, the court found.
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Savannahmann
(3,891 posts)That would be a good start. It's a shame that the Judge couldn't order the cops to experience what the victims of police brutality endure every day.
atreides1
(16,079 posts)Because I really believe that cops do the stupid shit they do because they know that other then getting fired they're hardly held responsible for their actions!
tblue37
(65,343 posts)"suspension."
Comrade Grumpy
(13,184 posts)Fired 15 rounds from a few feet away...
pitbullgirl1965
(564 posts)Fucking pigs.
mythology
(9,527 posts)In fact, "The deputies involved are still working after going through an internal investigation that found they did nothing wrong."
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=9206843
This is why police shouldn't be allowed to review their own actions. It should be done by an outside entity.
Logical
(22,457 posts)pnwmom
(108,978 posts)And they each suffered multiple injuries. Four million doesn't begin to make up for what they went through.