$1,000,000 paid out by GV
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kimberman
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Post subject: $1,000,000 paid out by GV Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 5:23 pm |
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Wise Elder |
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Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2005 7:48 pm Posts: 2782 Location: St. Paul
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$1 million-plus settlement in Golden Valley police excessive-force case
Quote: Hixon is black, and 911 transcriptions show officers were told the bank robbery suspect was white.
I thought cops had to pass a physical. Can they tell a green light from a red?
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Lenny7
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Post subject: Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 11:37 pm |
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Longtime Regular |
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Joined: Tue Mar 14, 2006 11:09 am Posts: 1060 Location: Savage, MN
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The quotes today in the Strib are just killing me!
http://www.startribune.com/local/west/14167416.html
Quote: Lawsuit's settlement brings no joy to man beaten up by police
Golden Valley will pay $1.15 million to Al Hixon three years after he was mistaken for a bank robber.
By CURT BROWN, Star Tribune
Last update: January 23, 2008 - 8:44 PM
Golden Valley has agreed to pay nearly $1.15 million to a black man who police officers threw to the ground and pepper-sprayed after mistaking him for a bank robber nearly three years ago.
"This is nothing to celebrate," Al Hixon, 47, said Wednesday. "They violated my civil rights and I still have mental health issues. I think about what happened every day.
"I don't understand all the fancy lawyering, I just know a white kid robbed the bank and they beat me up."
Golden Valley City Council members approved the settlement Tuesday night rather than playing what City Attorney Allen Barnard likened to "Russian roulette" with the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Hixon, a longtime businessman and community leader in Golden Valley, had stopped at a service station in April 2005 to add oil to his car when a bank outlet at an adjacent grocery store was robbed. Police dispatchers said the robbery suspect was white.
Police say Hixon started to run. Hixon testified he was just trying to get out of the way of potential gunfire when officer Mario Hernandez took him down, placed a boot on his neck, handcuffed him, pepper-sprayed him and arrested him. Charges were later dropped and the robber was caught within minutes and convicted.
In September, a federal jury in St. Paul awarded Hixon $778,000 after finding Hernandez used excessive force. Golden Valley was also ordered to pay nearly $459,000 to cover Hixon's legal fees.
Barnard said the city's $1 million insurance policy will cover most of the settlement.
Strong words despite deal
The settlement is not an admission that Golden Valley police did anything wrong, Barnard said.
"The evidence from our perspective was the police officer did everything he was supposed to," he said. "This was an isolated incident and a tragedy for all around, not just Hixon and his family, but the police officer and his family, as well.
"It's kind of like a car wreck," Barnard said. "People like to think if someone gets hurt, someone else must be in the wrong and there must have been an injustice. But that isn't always the case."
Hixon's lawyer, Andrew Parker, said such comments are simply the latest examples of Golden Valley's insensitivity. He said the city could have settled the case before the trial for substantially less money, but he wouldn't disclose mediation figures because of confidentiality agreements.
"They refuse to recognize or accept that there are issues of training and sensitivity in this city's police department," said Parker, who spent five years as a young lawyer helping defend police officers in excessive force cases. This was his first case suing an officer.
"The payment by the city underscores the serious harm that can occur when police officers abuse their authority and city officials do nothing about the abuse," Parker said.
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joelr
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Post subject: Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 6:50 am |
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The Man |
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Joined: Sun Aug 07, 2005 5:43 am Posts: 7970 Location: Minneapolis MN
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_________________ Just a guy.
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Dick Unger
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Post subject: Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 8:48 am |
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Joined: Sun Aug 28, 2005 2:54 am Posts: 2444 Location: West Central MN
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The only reason they had to pay was that Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals that plays Russian roulette", according to the City.
They're down is St. Louis, we can just blame them, and the local mutual admiration society is intact.
So, nobody we know is responsible, we're all victims, I guess.
The cop "did everything he was supposed to do" and it's still an "isolated incident"?
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joelr
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Post subject: Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 8:57 am |
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The Man |
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Joined: Sun Aug 07, 2005 5:43 am Posts: 7970 Location: Minneapolis MN
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Dick Unger wrote: The only reason they had to pay was that Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals that plays Russian roulette", according to the City.
They're down is St. Louis, we can just blame them, and the local mutual admiration society is intact.
So, nobody we know is responsible, we're all victims, I guess.
The cop "did everything he was supposed to do" and it's still an "isolated incident"? Yup. And that's the problem. There will be bad apples in every barrel and even good people make mistakes. (Although it's hard to understand how, when informed that a white guy has robbed a bank, it's simply a "mistake" for a couple of Golden Valley's finest to jump-and-thump the nearest black guy. But I digress; I'm trying to make a more general point.)
But when both bad actors getting caught behaving badly and good but imperfect people making horrible, inexcusable mistakes are, well, excused and covered up, it's never going to get better.
_________________ Just a guy.
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Pakrat
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Post subject: Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 9:50 am |
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Forum Moderator/<br>AV Geek |
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Joined: Mon Aug 08, 2005 11:56 am Posts: 2422 Location: Hopkins, MN
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Wait, police looking for a white robber, stop a black guy and beat him, and the city doesn't think they should have paid? The court is a couple hundred miles away so their opinion should hold no weight?
I assume they were questioning him as a suspect for the robbery... They weren't stopping him for speeding while they were actively looking for a robbery suspect, right?
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joelr
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Post subject: Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 9:54 am |
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The Man |
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Joined: Sun Aug 07, 2005 5:43 am Posts: 7970 Location: Minneapolis MN
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Pakrat wrote: Wait, police looking for a white robber, stop a black guy and beat him, and the city doesn't think they should have paid? Oh, they did worse than that -- check the livejournal. But, yup, they think it's a horrible miscarriage of justice that they should pay. Poor dears.
_________________ Just a guy.
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Dick Unger
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Post subject: Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 11:02 am |
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Joined: Sun Aug 28, 2005 2:54 am Posts: 2444 Location: West Central MN
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Pakrat wrote: Wait, police looking for a white robber, stop a black guy and beat him, and the city doesn't think they should have paid? The court is a couple hundred miles away so their opinion should hold no weight?
I assume they were questioning him as a suspect for the robbery... They weren't stopping him for speeding while they were actively looking for a robbery suspect, right?
The city LOST the case before a jury in St. Paul. The next step in denial is to appeal. Probably they knew they'd lose again.
It's bad form to badmouth police, prosecutors, local judges or jurors. Still, they want to maintain that it's OK to beat up an innocent guy, so they blame the Appeals Court, which hasn't even seen the case.
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bkrafft
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Post subject: Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 10:16 pm |
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Longtime Regular |
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Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2006 3:02 pm Posts: 571
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Okay, let me make sure I have this straight.
The city lost in court, and it is up to them to decide whether or not to appeal.
If they appeal and lose they might pay more.
If they appeal and win (and they believe they should win, because their cops did nothing wrong) they don't pay anything but their appeal costs.
If they don't appeal, they have to pay the judgement from the local court.
So they decided not to appeal, but instead chose to pay almost twice what they would have had to pay if they didn't appeal, because if they did appeal they might have had to pay more?
And it is the fault of the court they chose not to appeal to that they had to pay almost twice what they would have had to pay if they didn't appeal.
My head hurts.
_________________ If the Government does not obey the Constitution, then what is Treason? -- Unknown
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reaver3
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Post subject: Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 2:10 am |
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Activist Extraordinaire |
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Joined: Mon Aug 08, 2005 10:02 pm Posts: 546 Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
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I don't get it either.
_________________ Respectfully,
Doug
"Some Things Are Worth Fighting For"
Judas Priest
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Dick Unger
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Post subject: Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 7:21 am |
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Joined: Sun Aug 28, 2005 2:54 am Posts: 2444 Location: West Central MN
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Although the City lost a unanamous decision before a federal judge and 12 jurors, they still tell us they are right and the judge and jurors got it wrong.
The City's next step would be to present the case to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, headquartered in St. Louis, MO, to correct this million dollar "mistake".
But they decided to pay the judgement instead. To justify why they are right and the rest of the world is wrong, they said a case before the Appeals Court would be "russian roulette" , to which they won't subject their proud selves.
The real reason, I suspect, is that they know they have no chance to win in St. Louis, and they'll also have to pay the winners's attorney fees in this kind of a case, as well as their own.
They're wrong and they know it. We know it. Institutional denial.
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DeanC
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Post subject: Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 10:32 am |
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Longtime Regular |
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Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2006 9:54 am Posts: 5270 Location: Minneapolis
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Dick Unger wrote: They're wrong and they know it. We know it. Institutional denial.
And Officer Hernandez is still on the street?
_________________ I am defending myself... in favor of that!
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plblark
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Post subject: Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 10:35 am |
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Longtime Regular |
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Joined: Thu Mar 16, 2006 10:41 am Posts: 4468
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you know ... in my profession a mullion dollar judgment and the publicity to go with it might be a job ender. It'd definitely be a problem in my next review.
_________________ Certified Carry Permit Instructor (MNTactics.com and ShootingSafely.com) Click here for current Carry Classes "There is no safety for honest men, except by believing all possible evil of evil men." - Edwin Burke
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DeanC
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Post subject: Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 10:57 am |
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Longtime Regular |
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Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2006 9:54 am Posts: 5270 Location: Minneapolis
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Well, as Jeff Cooper would say, these people are also still on the street: Lon Horiuchi, O.J. Simpson, and Vince Foster's killer.
_________________ I am defending myself... in favor of that!
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kimberman
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Post subject: Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 11:09 am |
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Wise Elder |
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Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2005 7:48 pm Posts: 2782 Location: St. Paul
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DeanC wrote: And Officer Hernandez is still on the street?
Oh yes. And thinking he done right. He'll do it again!
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