Posted on 01/30/2013 9:16:28 PM PST by Altariel
Last week The Washington Post reported that Sal Culosi's parents have reached a $2 million settlement with Fairfax County, Virginia, police Detective Deval Bullock, who shot and killed the 38-year-old optometrist during a January 2006 SWAT raid on his home. The unusual settlement reflects the outrageous facts of this case, in which an unarmed man suspected of nothing more than betting on sports was recklessly gunned down during an unnecessarily violent operation.
The SWAT team came to Culosi's house because another Fairfax County detective, David Baucum, overheard him and some friends wagering on a college football game at a bar. "To Sal, betting a few bills on the Redskins was a stress reliever, done among friends," a friend of Culosi's told me shortly after his death. "None of us single, successful professionals ever thought that betting 50 bucks or so on the Virginia/Virginia Tech football game was a crime worthy of investigation." Baucum apparently did. After overhearing the wagering, Baucum befriended Culosi. During the next several months he talked Culosi into raising the stakes of what Culosi thought were friendly wagers. Eventually Culosi and Baucum bet more than $2,000 in a single day, enough under Virginia law for police to charge Culosi with running a gambling operation. That's when they brought in the SWAT team.
On the night of January 24, 2006, Baucum called Culosi and arranged a time to drop by to collect his winnings. When Culosi, barefoot and clad in a T-shirt and jeans, stepped out of his house to meet the man he thought was a friend, the SWAT team moved in. Moments later, Bullock, who had had been on duty since 4 a.m. and hadn't slept in 17 hours, killed him. Culosi's last words: "Dude, what are you doing?"
(Excerpt) Read more at reason.com ...
After five years, the family of a Virginia optometrist killed by a SWAT team finally gets some closure
The Taxpayers of Fairfax County are guilty? How much jailtime will they recieve?
Ironic title, isn’t it?
$2 million of someone else's money stolen at gunpoint is a small price to pay.
Pony up, Fairfax County taxpeasants - or your serf azzes will be the next to get shot by the SWAT team...
If the county is guilty then those who are running and working for the county should pay up from their pockets not the taxpayers
GeronL: “If the county is guilty then those who are running and working for the county should pay up from their pockets not the taxpayers.”
I agree, but good luck making that happen. In other words, don’t hold your breath.
All your questions are actually answered if you took the time to read the article.
The second half of your post is agreeable.
Sal was my eye doctor when I lived in the area. I’ll never forget this.
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