Maybe a few of these will take the luster off of the no-knock SWAT team bu@#$it we're seeing out there.
I'm willing to be convinced that there are times when a no-knock might be the right thing, but they are damned few and far between.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Fatal raid settled for $6m
Dinuba family's award against police may set state record.
By Jerry Bier
The Fresno Bee
(Published March 31, 2000)
The family of a Dinuba man gunned down by police in a failed SWAT raid nearly three years ago agreed to a $6 million settlement with the city Thursday, ending an ongoing legal battle.
Arturo J. Gonzalez, one of the lawyers who represented the family, said the settlement accomplishes everything the family set out to do after Ramon Gallardo Sr. was killed.
"We prov-ed that the entry into the Gallardo home was unconstitutional and we proved that arresting Mrs. Carmen Gallardo and her family was unconstitutional," Gonzalez said.
"Dinuba no longer has a SWAT team and we have obtained a record award. There is nothing more to prove. Justice has prevailed."
The settlement by the family of Ramon Gallardo Sr. is believed to be the largest ever against law enforcement in California.
By comparison, a Los Angeles civil jury awarded Rodney King $3.8 million in connection with a 1991 beating by police officers.
Gallardo, 64, was shot 13 to 15 times during a police raid on the family home in Dinuba in July 1997 while officers served a search warrant looking for a weapon reportedly used in an attempted murder in Visalia. No such weapon was found in the Gallardo home.
Rosemary McGuire, one of the lawyers who represented the city and the police officers, said in a separate interview Thursday that the settlement includes damages for the family and all legal fees.
"I think it's been a difficult case for the plaintiffs and the defendants, and I can only assume everyone is relieved that it's over," McGuire said.
Police had said Gallardo armed himself with a knife when officers, wearing camouflage uniforms, hoods and masks, entered the home about 7 a.m. July 11, 1997.
But Gonzalez, as he had argued to the jury, told reporters at a news conference that no fingerprints ever were found on the pocketknife police said Gallardo held and Gonzalez suspected it was planted by the officers.
The search warrant was based on a statement by an informant who said he had sold the weapon to one of the Gallardo sons. He reportedly later recanted the statement.
After the shooting, officers took Carmen Gallardo and members of her family to police headquarters and held them there for hours before releasing them.
Gonzalez said the family remains upset that officer Jon Reineccius, who fired the fatal shots, remains on the Dinuba police force and never has been disciplined.
Lawyer notes jurors' race
A jury awarded the Gallardo family $12.5 million a year ago this month, but the total was later reduced to $7.5 million by U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger.
The judge upheld a $5 million award to Gallardo's widow and $175,000 to each of his 13 children, but concluded that the jury's additional $5 million award to the estate was excessive.
The city appealed the verdict and that process was continuing when the settlement was reached.
Gonzalez noted that seven of the eight jurors on the civil jury that heard the federal court case were white.
"I say that because there are some people who believe that a Mexican-American family cannot obtain justice in Fresno and that that they cannot obtain justice from white jurors," Gonzalez said. "And that's simply not true. And this case helped prove that."
Although the family did not attend the news conference they did issue statements through Gonzalez.
Carmen Gallardo said she remains devastated by the loss of her husband, but "living with the tragedy is a little bit easier knowing the judge and the jury ruled in our favor. I pray that this does not happen to any other family."
Settlement sends message
Rudy Gallardo, a son, said the loss still hurts. "I think of my father all of the time," he said. "Maybe this settlement will help to prevent another family from having to suffer the way we have."
Robert Y. Chan, who served as co-counsel for the Gallardo family, said he hopes the decision sends a message to police departments "to re-evaluate their procedures and make sure they are in compliance with the law. And to respect the limits imposed by the Constitution."
Gonzalez declined to say how much of the $6 million settlement will go toward lawyer's fees, but said the portion for his firm, Morrison & Foerster of San Francisco, will be placed in an account that funds public interest cases such as the Gallardos'.
Wanger had awarded a total of $930,000 in legal fees and costs.
[/quote]
I'm willing to be convinced that there are times when a no-knock might be the right thing, but they are damned few and far between.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Fatal raid settled for $6m
Dinuba family's award against police may set state record.
By Jerry Bier
The Fresno Bee
(Published March 31, 2000)
The family of a Dinuba man gunned down by police in a failed SWAT raid nearly three years ago agreed to a $6 million settlement with the city Thursday, ending an ongoing legal battle.
Arturo J. Gonzalez, one of the lawyers who represented the family, said the settlement accomplishes everything the family set out to do after Ramon Gallardo Sr. was killed.
"We prov-ed that the entry into the Gallardo home was unconstitutional and we proved that arresting Mrs. Carmen Gallardo and her family was unconstitutional," Gonzalez said.
"Dinuba no longer has a SWAT team and we have obtained a record award. There is nothing more to prove. Justice has prevailed."
The settlement by the family of Ramon Gallardo Sr. is believed to be the largest ever against law enforcement in California.
By comparison, a Los Angeles civil jury awarded Rodney King $3.8 million in connection with a 1991 beating by police officers.
Gallardo, 64, was shot 13 to 15 times during a police raid on the family home in Dinuba in July 1997 while officers served a search warrant looking for a weapon reportedly used in an attempted murder in Visalia. No such weapon was found in the Gallardo home.
Rosemary McGuire, one of the lawyers who represented the city and the police officers, said in a separate interview Thursday that the settlement includes damages for the family and all legal fees.
"I think it's been a difficult case for the plaintiffs and the defendants, and I can only assume everyone is relieved that it's over," McGuire said.
Police had said Gallardo armed himself with a knife when officers, wearing camouflage uniforms, hoods and masks, entered the home about 7 a.m. July 11, 1997.
But Gonzalez, as he had argued to the jury, told reporters at a news conference that no fingerprints ever were found on the pocketknife police said Gallardo held and Gonzalez suspected it was planted by the officers.
The search warrant was based on a statement by an informant who said he had sold the weapon to one of the Gallardo sons. He reportedly later recanted the statement.
After the shooting, officers took Carmen Gallardo and members of her family to police headquarters and held them there for hours before releasing them.
Gonzalez said the family remains upset that officer Jon Reineccius, who fired the fatal shots, remains on the Dinuba police force and never has been disciplined.
Lawyer notes jurors' race
A jury awarded the Gallardo family $12.5 million a year ago this month, but the total was later reduced to $7.5 million by U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger.
The judge upheld a $5 million award to Gallardo's widow and $175,000 to each of his 13 children, but concluded that the jury's additional $5 million award to the estate was excessive.
The city appealed the verdict and that process was continuing when the settlement was reached.
Gonzalez noted that seven of the eight jurors on the civil jury that heard the federal court case were white.
"I say that because there are some people who believe that a Mexican-American family cannot obtain justice in Fresno and that that they cannot obtain justice from white jurors," Gonzalez said. "And that's simply not true. And this case helped prove that."
Although the family did not attend the news conference they did issue statements through Gonzalez.
Carmen Gallardo said she remains devastated by the loss of her husband, but "living with the tragedy is a little bit easier knowing the judge and the jury ruled in our favor. I pray that this does not happen to any other family."
Settlement sends message
Rudy Gallardo, a son, said the loss still hurts. "I think of my father all of the time," he said. "Maybe this settlement will help to prevent another family from having to suffer the way we have."
Robert Y. Chan, who served as co-counsel for the Gallardo family, said he hopes the decision sends a message to police departments "to re-evaluate their procedures and make sure they are in compliance with the law. And to respect the limits imposed by the Constitution."
Gonzalez declined to say how much of the $6 million settlement will go toward lawyer's fees, but said the portion for his firm, Morrison & Foerster of San Francisco, will be placed in an account that funds public interest cases such as the Gallardos'.
Wanger had awarded a total of $930,000 in legal fees and costs.
[/quote]
