Taser case from 2005 settled for 200K.

[Liberal_in_LA]

Background:

Sandra Brown and her husband, Richard, were driving home from dinner in downtown Minneapolis when they were pulled over by a Golden Valley squad car. One of the officers asked Richard if he knew why he'd been stopped, and Richard replied that he did not.

An officer opened the driver-side door, yanked Richard from the car, threw him against the side of the car and handcuffed him. Sandra, the passenger, called 911, saying she was frightened by the officers' aggression. She said they never asked for her husband's license, registration or proof of insurance, and never told him why he'd been pulled over.

As she was explaining the situation to the 911 operator, she allegedly heard someone yell, "She is on 911. She is on 911." Backup officer Rob Zarrett ordered Sandra to "Get off the phone."

When she refused, he Tasered her.

http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=803012&pid=591342124&st=0&#entry591342124

On Monday, Sandra Brown's lawsuit from the Oct. 8, 2005, incident was settled with an agreement from Golden Valley to pay her $200,000 for her federal civil rights and excessive-force claims. Brown, 57, said she suffered bruises on her wrists and arm and went on anti-anxiety medicine for the first time in her life after the incident. She said she remains wary of police.

"I would think twice before I dialed 911 even if I was in trouble," she said. "I truly believed the police were there to protect you, and that belief is not so true anymore."

Jon Iverson, who represented Golden Valley, said the decision to settle was not an admission of wrongdoing. "If we would have tried this case, we would have had an aggressive defense," Iverson said.

But the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust, which insures Golden Valley and some 800 cities in Minnesota, decided to settle rather than take its chances with a federal jury, he said.

Brown's lawyer, Paul Applebaum, said: "$200,000 sounds like an admission of misconduct to me. Most police brutality cases are settled for a nuisance value of $2,500."

http://www.startribune.com/local/west/60107767.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUsZ

[armyowalgreens]

1. I hope they file another lawsuit for hardship...

And I hope they get millions.

[katandmoon]

2. GOOD!

[PM Martin]

3. The court rejected qualified immunity.

The court rejected the defendants' bid for qualified or official immunity

"Qualified Immunity" is nonsense as is making the city assume all indemnity.

Make the cops personally responsible and this nonsense will stop.

[PM Martin]

4. KEEP YOUR DOORS LOCKED WHEN PULLED OVER!

[PM Martin]

5. kick

[Snarkoleptic]

6. There is huge money in this racket.

I friend of mine has a home in a gated community in Scottsdale.
His home is worth around $1.3MM, but he showed me the home at the end of the block that was being built by one of the Taser execs.
It's got to be around 9,000 sq ft and completely decked out with all of the options you can add.
There seems to be big money in fascism and it's tools of oppression.

[PM Martin]

7. Combine the deafening sound machines

heat rays that burn skin, this is disgusting.

Weapon manufacturers are S**T!

[midnight]

8. Poor thing. Dialling 911 is not an option for her.

[PM Martin]

9. kick