A Jury Awards a Veteran $760,000 in an Alleged Police Brutality Lawsuit
On Wednesday, October 11, 2017, a jury in a Denver U.S. District Court awarded a disabled Vietnam veteran $760,000 because he was allegedly a victim of police brutality in Kremmling, Colorado. The jury found that Robert Mark Smith was ultimately punished by police for protesting prior alleged wrongdoings of the department. He allegedly became the target of police harassment and victimization, due to his frequent and enthusiastic opposition to the alleged selective enforcement of mobile home park-related laws. He was also outspoken about what he called “trumped-up accusations” that were made against him and his business, made by certain members of the community and law enforcement.
Smith alleges that on the night of March 5, 2013, his home was unconstitutionally raided with no warrant. He claims that police officers beat him brutally. He alleges that he fell to his stomach and officers punched, kicked, and stomped his back, head, and ribs.
The jury obviously agreed that Smith had been a victim of alleged police brutality. In recent years, there has been a change with regard to police because social media websites have made it possible to share videos of alleged episodes of police misconduct. More and more police departments now fit every police officer with a body camera, to further hold officers accountable and purportedly provide assurance that police are doing their jobs in the ways they were trained to do them.
As with every post on this website, we are only providing information in this post and do not make any allegation or assertion that anyone acted inappropriately or engaged in misconduct.
–Guest Contributor
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smchugh