Posted on 09/22/2012 1:14:01 PM PDT by Politicalmom
The April verdict by a Frederick County jury that awarded $620,000 to a Taneytown family after their dog was shot by a sheriff's deputy was upheld by a Montgomery County judge.
An attorney for the Frederick County Sheriff's Office argued that the jury's verdict should be set aside because it went against the weight of the evidence presented during the seven-day trial. Michael B. Rynd asked Judge Marielsa Bernard to either set aside the verdict or grant his motion for a new trial.
Bernard heard the case after Frederick County judges recused themselves.
She denied Rynd's motion, saying it would be inappropriate to substitute her judgment for the jury's verdict. She issued her ruling Monday.
Rynd also filed a motion to have the $620,000 judgment lowered.
Bernard agreed with Rynd that Maryland law caps damages for veterinary bills at $7,500 and reduced the original $20,000 for those costs.
The rest of the award, $600,000, was for mental anguish, pain and suffering, according to court records.
Rynd argued that portions of that amount should have been decreased because the jury awarded the exact same amount to each of the two homeowners, Roger and Sandi Jenkins. Sandi Jenkins seemed more upset during testimony at trial, so the damages should be less for her husband, Rynd said.
Bernard denied that part of the motion.
On April 3, a six-person jury found Deputy First Class Timothy Brooks violated the Jenkinses' rights under the Maryland Constitution when he shot their chocolate Labrador retriever, Brandi, on Jan. 9, 2010, while he and Deputy First Class Nathan Rector were at their Bullfrog Road home looking for their son, who was wanted on a civil warrant.
(Excerpt) Read more at fredericknewspost.com ...
That'd be a 10 to one return on a small investment ~ can't hardly beat that one no how.
Once I get my money you can stir them up eh.
$5000 at the most for a dog. The only people who lose here are the taxpayers. No dog is worth $600,000
That’s not funny
WTF??? The dog isn’t even dead though it may have run up some steep veterinarian bills.
not supposed to be funny.
A moral victory should be good enough.
Taking that much money from taxpayers is just wrong.
Hey Dennis, I missed the part where they said the $600,000 was for the dead dog.
Please point that part out to us.
The ruling was good, but I think the funds should come right out of that PD’s operating budget —the PD needs to suffer, not the innocent taxpayers.
This is happening more and more and I think cops should take out a bond for these types of events —when finally they can’t get coverage, well, the PD would know what to do with that guy’s contract...
Same for judges who pen-whip applications for no-knock warrants
Moral victories do not change policies or the politicians that institute them.
The taxpayers of these districts elected people who put these shoot fog policies in place. It’s up to them to make good on their error. Sucks greatly for those who didn’t vote for them, but elections have consequences.
And it it takes bankrupting towns and cities to teach the lesson, so be it.
Lessay when you got pulled over for speeding, your ticket was paid by the CITY —not by you.
Does anyone think that would deter you from future speeding?
The transgressor should be the payer —then everything works.
I have a cat, the cops could shoot it for less than half that.
You expect comedic talent from a psychotic?
I’d rather my tax dollars go for this than any of O’Malice’s other corrupt “programs”.
Some cop is always going to make a bad decision about something. That's no reason for one person (and his lawyer) to get rich.
Give the money back to the taxpayer and fire the chief of police. That'll be a better solution.
That is BS. A dog is your best friend a member of your family. The anguish of losing your best friend and a member of the family should be compensated for.
Except it does not work that way in real life. The system is what it is. Sucks, but that’s the recourse.
If the law made cops personally liable there would be no cops. Am I happy that taxpayers get screwed? No. But if they keep electing idiot liberals that make dog shooting a priority in contact with the public, they deserve what they get.
Well then, dogs get shot, live with that real world.
No reason to then do additional wrong by getting rich unjustly.
The only way to stop this is to hold the shooter(s) COMPLETELY responsible if the jury finds they violated PD policy.
PD policy should be that pets on their own private property are treated as “children” with regard to limits on the use of deadly force.
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