Cost of Rookie Police: $12 M

C

Camp David

New member
The parents to sue:

Slain Man's Family Notifies County of Suit
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/04/AR2007010401774.html
By Tom Jackman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 5, 2007; Page B05
"The family of a Fairfax County man shot to death by a Fairfax officer last year demanded yesterday that the county pay $12 million for his wrongful death."

There was an earlier thread on this shooting... right near my home... The facts of the case involved:

"Culosi was an optometrist living in the Fair Oaks area. He was being investigated by Fairfax police in connection with illegal sports gambling, and an undercover detective said in an affidavit for a search warrant that he had bet on professional football games with Culosi for several months in late 2005On a Tuesday night after a football weekend, the detective went to Culosi's townhouse to pick up his winnings. The detective then signaled for two SWAT officers to arrest Culosi. The officers drove up, and Bullock hopped out of the passenger side of a sport-utility vehicle. He told police investigators that as he left the vehicle, the door bumped his left side, causing his right side to flinch, according to an internal affairs report seen by The Washington Post. Bullock fired one shot from his .45-caliber handgun, killing Culosi instantly. Fairfax Commonwealth's Attorney Robert F. Horan Jr. ruled that Bullock did not commit a crime."

:eek:

=>Sending a SWAT team to serve warrants?
=>One shot being blamed on being bumped?
=>Since when do officers jump out and aim guns at those they are serving warrants on?
=>Since when is betting on football a reason to die at the hands of law enforcement?

:confused:

The local folks, myself included, are concerned... we don't need such rookie storm troopers and they do a disservice to the many fine police in our area...
 
As an aside: rookie? Most departments I know of require a few years on the beat before even applying to be a detective.

That comment aside, sounds like the shooter had an ND, and he should pay, not the PD.
 
=>Since when do officers jump out and aim guns at those they are serving warrants on?
Click to expand...

If its a felony warrant, you bet. Every time. Typically normal people sometimes do extraordinary things when faced with a felony arrest.
 
Yep, Felonies tend to really ruin your life. Strange that betting on football doesn't seem to be an offense worthy of ruining or depriving one of their life. I guess if you don't give the state their cut you must at least be ruined.

Gambling
State lottery is ok? Pay in your few dollars for a shot at millions.
Problem is, I want to do my own lottery. Silly people put hundreds of millions in , win a 20million dollar prize , have half taken in tax and continue to pay tax on the capital gains of that prize money. Sounds like a good deal for the governments. All I want to do is have a nice lottery to give some lucky person a nice house. $250,000 home. I will sell tickets at $50, selling 10,000 tickets... hmmm a 100% profit for me. 1 in 10,000 odds is good isn't it? Better than the silly state lotto. But unfortunately the government would be upset , having not gotten to take half for themselves ,and I would be charged with a felony.

What's good for the goose , isn't good for the gander?:confused:

Yes, "Negligent Discharge". The officer in question should be charged with manslaughter and thrown into jail. The law applies to all equally doesn't it? Now he will be a felon. Excellent way to go.

The PD was only enforcing the law with it's agents of enforcement, they cannot be at fault.:rolleyes:
 
sounds like manslaughter guess the laws against manslaughter dont apply to the privileged class.
wrongfull death at the least
 
jcoiii, I think Camp David is using the term "rookie" in the derogative, as in novice, not recruit.

I agree with Don H's post.

The circumstance is most certainly a tragedy. And there's nothing wrong with a catchy title, as long as it is truthful, relative to the subject of the post and not too sensational.
 
The local folks, myself included, are concerned... we don't need such rookie storm troopers and they do a disservice to the many fine police in our area...
Click to expand...

It's a 'chicken & egg' problem, amigo. You can't have all them fine po-leese, unless you had rookies first;)

Police misconduct must be judged on a case by case basis, and examined in the light of the law- and facts known to the officer, at the time he decided to shoot. Generally when you see multi-million dollar awards to plaintiffs in these kinds of cases- that's the jury's way of saying "You stepped on it, Homey." If I read the article correctly, this one has yet to be decided.
 
So, my brother and I make bets on football games every sunday...
I better stop before I get shot by the law.
Click to expand...

Hey, you should be more grateful, aren't you glad the government is here to watch over you and make sure you don't waste your money on sports betting?
 
Don't know about the officer being a rookie.

But he is a SWAT team member, according to the article. :confused:

I understand that in Virginia, all felony warrants are accompanied by SWAT. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
 
It'll be interesting to follow the civil suit. Could be a multi-million $$$ award; maybe not. Wrongful death suit will probably involve the agency; political subdivision; officer involved.
 
Don H said:
This is a misleading statement. The plaintiffs have not prevailed and there has been no verdict in that amount, or any amount, to date.
Click to expand...

I thought about the title a bit before I posted it... The plaintiffs will likely settle for at least that amount if not more in a sealed verdict since the guilt is fairly persuasive and the civil trial will embassas the County's finest (!) even more; secondly we here in the County are without an innocent civilian who was gunned down needlessy by a rookie SWAT officer (sorry no other accurate way of putting that)...

Now I suppose I could think of 100 different ways of making apology for reckless law enforcement but I won't (why should I)... Perhaps a better title is this: "When In Fairfax, Use Flax Jackets When Law Enforcement Serves You Papers," but after contemplation, I favor my original title...
 
Ausserordeutlich said:
So, Camp, you really think that the county will settle for MORE than the family is demanding? That's verrrrry interesting.
Click to expand...
Sealed settlements frequently involve a clause that family will not speak to media or disclose details of settlement and that frequently exceeds amount requested in suit... Yes to your question and it is not rare today...
 
If you were the police department and were clearly in the wrong would you want to give a jury the chance to decide this? I think a very good case could be made that the deceased had a good earning potential as a medical professional. Throw in some very reasonable pain and suffering for the family and punitive damages and 12 million could be considered reasonable.

The negligence of the officer caused the individual to be killed. I don't think the police department is going to get around that with a jury.
 
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