BELL GARDENS, CA PERSONAL INJURY VICTIMS RECEIVE $4.5 MILLION CIVIL JURY AWARD FROM POLICE BEATING
In Bell Gardens, California, located 10 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, two men were severely injured at a Halloween party. The men later filed a lawsuit against the officers and the Bell Gardens Police Department (BGPD), claiming that they were beaten without provocation. In a recent trial, a jury found that the men had suffered a deprivation of their civil rights for the officers’ malicious prosecution and excessive force. Consequently, it ordered the police officers and the BGPD to pay $3.2 million in general damages and an additional $1.3 million in punitive damages.
At trial, the testimony of both sides greatly conflicted. Police claim that, in the course of shutting down the party for a noise disturbance complaint, the two men attacked them first. However, the men claimed that a police officer punched one of them in the chest after only a terse exchange of words. Immediately after, the men alleged that the officers joined together and fired beanbag guns at close proximity, shot partygoers with pepper spray, beat them with batons, and kicked them with their boots. In addition, the men claimed that the police filed false police reports and lied under oath in an attempt to wrongly prosecute the men. After hearing both sides of evidence, the jury believed the men’s story and ordered the awarding of damages.
If you have been the victim of a wrongful injury inflicted by the police or a public official, you may have a right to recovery for your injuries. To speak to a personal injury attorney regarding your rights, call the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP at 1-800-ALAWPRO (1-800-252-9776) now.
