County Settles Wrongful Death Claim – Police Officers Shoot and Kill Loren Simpson

Sheriff’s Deputies in Yellowstone County fatally shot Loren Simpson while Mr. Simpson was driving down a snow-covered road.  Yellowstone County recently agreed to pay Mr. Simpson’s family $1.25 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit.  Dash cam video showing the shooting is here –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8WLtpFYRAg

The United States District Court status report filed in the cased indicated that an agreement was reached during mediation.  Mr. Simpson had been driving down a road, in the direction of deputies, in a Ford Explorer that had been reported as stolen.  The deputies shot at the vehicle multiple times and indicated that they felt threatened by the vehicle coming in their direction.  The lawsuit alleged that the deputies used excessive force and were not entitled to what is called “qualified immunity.”  Qualified immunity is a concept that protects police officers, in substance, when they could not have known that they were violating federal law.

Written By: Dean Malone

Dean Malone

Dean Malone is the founder of Law Offices of Dean Malone, P.C., a jail neglect civil rights law firm. Mr. Malone earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Texas at Dallas, graduating summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA, and from Baylor University School of Law with a general civil litigation concentration. Mr. Malone served in several staff positions for the Baylor Law Review, including executive editor. Mr. Malone is an experienced trial lawyer, trying a number of cases to jury verdict and also handling arbitrations through final hearing. He heads the jail neglect section of his law firm, in which lawyers litigate cases involving serious injury and death resulting from jail neglect and abuse. Lawyers frequently refer cases to Mr. Malone due to his focus on this very complicated civil rights practice area.