What's With This Trend?
A Cook County jury has awarded $3.9 million to the family of a man shot to death by a police officer about three years ago on the West Side.
Ronald Mullins, 30, was shot three times by Officer Geoffrey Roberts, who fired after he was caught in the window of a car Mullins was driving July 6, 2004. Police found the shooting justified, which Mullins' family contested in a lawsuit.
- Jurors assessed $5.2 million in damages Tuesday, but awarded Mullins' survivors only a portion -- $3.9 million -- because they found he was 25 percent responsible for his own death.
And that's not all. A second case:
A federal jury has awarded $4 million in damages to the family of a 14-year-old boy who was fatally shot in the back by an off-duty Chicago police officer in 2002.
The jury set the damages at $5 million but found Juan "Johnny" Salazar, the shooting victim, 20 percent at fault, said Salazar's lawyer, Donald Shapiro. The shooting took place after Salazar and a second person tried to rob the officer's residence.The federal jury's verdict Thursday night came five years to the day after Balbontin fatally shot Salazar. The home invasion went awry when Salazar's accomplice, Edgar Naranjo, then 26, tried to scare Balbontin's mother with an unloaded BB gun, according to testimony.
- "Johnny didn't even have a gun to turn on the police officer;" he said. "He did something wrong, but he should have been punished through the juvenile system."
"He didn't have to be tried, convicted and executed by Officer Balbontin," Shapiro said. "They never even took anything from the house.
It surely didn't help matters that the officer involved ended up murdering his own wife three years later and is serving 25 of his own years for that crime. But we fail to see where the dead shithead is only twenty percent liable when he broke into an occupied dwelling with an accomplice and a gun and now taxpayers are on the hook for $4 million.
Dead criminals as lottery tickets. Only in Crook County.
Labels: dumb ideas
posted by SCC at 1:55 AM
50 Comments:
How much money we are gonna be paying out for all the shooting this year alone in few years.
Again why do anything to only get your ass handed back to you. Let this city turn to total shit, It wont get better until we let it get worse.
MARA GEORGES AND HER CORP COUNSEL, ARE SO CLOUTED IN THEY COULD NOT PROPERLY WIN ANY CASE! HEY WAHY NOT JUST GIVE "OUR" MONEY AWAY TO THE CRIMINALS, AFTER ALL DALEY IS A CRIMINAL MASTERMIND AND HE GIVES ALL HIS "FRIENDS" BILLIONS WHY NOT GIVE EVERYTHING AWAY! IRRESPONSIBLE=DALEY!
Stop shooting innocent people.
Ans people wonder why the Corp Counsel tries to settle alot of these cases, the juries theses days tend to side with the plaintiffs more and more, especially Cook County juries, factor in CSI and the rest of the police shows on tv, plus all the negative press we've garnered lately and you have a recipe for disaster. Let them settle, saves the officers the chance of having to pay punitive, whether the plaintiffs deserve it or not.
It will only get worse.
Because this is a dumbocrat-liberal-riddden county/state we live in. This type of shit wouldn't happen in a conservative republican area. They would laugh the lawsuit out of court.
What??? Tell me this is not so.... No wonder the City is busted and posting jobs of employees behind their backs w/o notifying them and telling them they have to apply for their existing jobs at a $20k lower pay scale.
Good grief Charlie Brown....
It's totally unjustifiable to award anything to the survivors of a man who dragged an officer with his car. I won't try to defend it. But it's not surprising.
The CPD has a horrible reputation right now, on a par with LAPD during the Rampart corruption scandal. We have cops lying on their reports, beating the shit out of tiny women, beating the shit out of businessmen, taking out contracts on other cops, selling drugs. You name it, a Chicago Police Officer has been caught doing it in the last year.
I can't help but think that Mike Mette would be a free man right now if he'd been working for NYPD.
CPD's leadership is out to lunch, and OPS and IA are worldwide laughingstocks. Unless CPD regains control of itself and polices itself effectively, there is no hope for regaining any of the public's trust.
ANON 8:21 --- Which of those two do you see as innocent??? Let's hang your ass out the window and drive down the street, or have a couple of punks with a gun force thier way into your house some night. Then we'll see who's innocent!
******ing Libertards!!
There goes our tax dollars. For every false allegation, we should sue. If they are on government assistance, sue the Government. Sue the family members as they are the awardees and should be equally responsible if they drag our name in the mud. There should be equal consequences for misconduct. If convicted of a crime the City should sue the offender and his/her family to compensate the City's time and manpower. Again, if on Government assisatance, sue the Government.
How much money we are gonna be paying out for all the shooting this year alone in few years.
10/08/2007 04:15:00 AM
WHAT?! Is this english, ebonics or booze? Man we be getting dumber by the day!
"Because this is a dumbocrat-liberal-riddden county/state we live in. This type of shit wouldn't happen in a conservative republican area. They would laugh the lawsuit out of court.
10/08/2007 08:53:00 AM"
JUST KEEP ON BEATING THAT REPUBLICLOWN DUM-DUM DRUM.
WHO WAS IT AGAIN THAT TOOK ALL SENTENCED INMATES OFF DEATH
ROW?
THE CONVICTED FELON CRYN RYAN, YOUR GOP POSTERCHILD HA!!
To 7:30AM your comment about shooting innocent people is very wrong and uninformed to say the least. I was involved with both of the investigations mentioned. The persons who were shot in both instances were not innocent persons, but criminals who brought the entire circumstances for the use of deadly force upon themselves.
These jury verdicts are the direct result of what the people read in the press or sees on TV news on a regular basis about the CPD. When we are found to be obviously in the wrong and it is captured on tape we have to fully expect that this will be a big news item. What has devistated our image is the constant repeat reporting of the same events over and over again by the media. Is it a true image of our everyday work to see Abante's photo with a short sentence or two about that incident included in every future article concerning misconduct or alleged misconduct, or even just unfounded accusations made by some persons like the post from 7:30. We even get this kind of reference when somthing happens in another department, How many times do we have to endure the rerun of the tape everytime someone else is accused in another incident.
For the thousands of officers who work that beat car in this city day in and day out with out any recognition from the public or our own department I would like to extend the thanks of a detective who has processed thousands of your arrests and I hope helped in the many investigations that you have documented over the 20 plus years that I served in that capacity.
The countless times I have witnessed you over extend your selves working this job and the kindness you routinely extend to the citizens of this city as well as to the other officers has always been an inspiritation. I have witnessed and have been a part of your sacrifice and service.
I also have seen first hand, over and over how most officers involved in a shooting incident have needlessly endangered their own lives trying to avoide the use of deadly force even when the situation warranted it's use.
The image that is shown routinely in the media is not deserved. Don't lose the pride you should have in yourselves and each other. Just quietly laugh to yourself everytime the media refers to SOS as the "elite SOS unit", sometimes 4 or 5 times in the same article. That only goes to show that they really haven't a clue as to what they are talking about. And to all the officers in SOS who have worked hard and done a god job and realize that their efforts are in support of the beat car, thanks also to you.
The problem right now is liberalism is running rampant. Anytime one way of thinking becomes to powerful its bad news. Racism was the same way when it engulfs a person (and it is a problem in all races not just white) it takes away a sense of reality. The problem now is that there is no responsibility for society, its the governments job to do everything for everybody and if they don't "we want answers!" well here is the answer you are not the only person/people here, at some point you need to stand up and take responsibility and move on. As for us other than passing people on the street we,as individuals, come into contact with say a thousand people a year while performing our duties of which say 50-100 go to jail of that maybe 1-5 becomes physical scuffle and probably .10 of those leads to deadly force (and the number maybe lower). One has to wonder if numbers like this are given to jurors in the course of a trial like this. I think there is a common belief that these issues of deadly force happen more than needed. Let say that in the 007 district there are 3 foot chases involving guns per day, some of whom are caught,some make good getting away,others pitch the gun successfully, but we know they had one, but of all of those maybe only two police involved shooting in that time period...are these numbers given to a jury? sure there are those of us who have less than perfect personal lives and some who lost their way but as a whole I think we conduct ourselves nicely and do our jobs impressively given the situations we are thrown into, so the media can present whatever they want and the public can think what they want but in the end we do a tough job and we do it well.
We need to start sueing the families of these assholes we legally and justifiably shoot and/or kill! "I feel morally and emotionally distraught after I was forced to shoot that guy while he was committing that crime. I want 25 mil. You're poor? You don't have it? Fuck You, pay me. I'll take your house, car, t.v. what have you." It should be easy to find some shyster attorney willing to take the case that can find them to be at least 75 % liable for their own death! Someone please start the precedent.
off topic- anyone have any info on the 8-9 m/1's from 006 who tried robbing a bunch of people at mt greenwood park on sat afternoon. i heard they were all caught. why havent i heard anything on the news, from the 022nd dist, or alderman rugai's office????
Illinois needs a Castle Doctrine statute!!!!! Home-invader catches a couple of hot ones and their shitbag family has to pay for the hole in the ground. And no 25% responsibility "for their own death" crap. We could of had this for a federal law but the Bushies F***** that up too.
This is the pathetic state of the world today. I remember my father predicting all of this. "Keep lowering the standards by which we live. Give people with no regard for their reputation or the law a public voice (hello media) and you will see the definition of "normal" deteriorate over time. Everything and anything will be accepted and ok." It took thirty years for my father's words to come true, but here it is right in front of us everyday. On the news, in the papers, on the street. "Normal" now (thanks to the media) looks like something you would cross the street to avoid years ago and these lawsuits are a symbol of the lack of values which have affected the critical thinking skills in the general public and population.
Thanks for listening. Not a cop, just a mom.
10/08/2007 08:21:00 AM
"Stop shooting innocent people."
-------------------------------------
Innocent people dont point guns at the police. Come down out of your ivory tower and I will show you the "Innocent" I deal with every day.
Oh, that would require you to leave your affluent neighborhood and challenge your belief system which is based on what you are spoon fed to you by others who believe exacly as you do. So , I guess that isnt going to happen.
Heaven forbid you allow a dissenting opinion based on fact to disturb the web of lies you and yours have created to support your lofty moral high ground. A position which is based on opinions of things which you know next to nothing, or nothing at all.
From Channel Three's "Airborne"
"In their white cars, they drive through slums And talk of art and distant wars
They shake their heads, and click their tongues
As they reach to lock the doors"
Seem farmiliar?
MARA GEORGES AND HER CORP COUNSEL, ARE SO CLOUTED IN THEY COULD NOT PROPERLY WIN ANY CASE! HEY WAHY NOT JUST GIVE "OUR" MONEY AWAY TO THE CRIMINALS, AFTER ALL DALEY IS A CRIMINAL MASTERMIND AND HE GIVES ALL HIS "FRIENDS" BILLIONS WHY NOT GIVE EVERYTHING AWAY! IRRESPONSIBLE=DALEY!
You've obviously never been down there as the subject of a suit. You may think you have a rock-solid case, only to see a liberal jury side with the plaintiff, now the city gets wacked with compensatory but YOU get wacked with punitive, which is to punish! and came be way more than the conpensatory, it's not a good place to be, let them settle....
DATS Y THE CITY SETTLES.
JURIES JUST SEE THE CITY AS BIG POCKETS. IN THE NEAR FUTURE YOU WILL START TO C OFFICERS GETTING HIT WITH THESE LAWSUIT ALSO. DONT BELIEVE THAT
THE CITY CAN PROTECT US FOREVER. WITH ALL THE NEGATIVE PRESS JURIES WILL START FINDING FAULT WITH GOOD OFFICER S. THE JUDGEMENTS AGAINST PO'S WILL PRETTY MUCH CLEAN OUT AN OFFICERS ASSEST. WHEN THIS OCCURS YOU WILL SEE A WORK SLOW DOWN
LIKE NOTHING EVER WITNESSED IN THIS
CITY.
Shooting home invaders while they are fleeing??? Don't sound kosher to me. The threat was gone.
maybe the morons in the corp counsel office can come up with an idea outside their realm of thinking. You guys can't win a police shooting liability case so why then don't you referit out to a law firm that has been wining cases like this against the City of Chicago, Hire Leovy & Loevy or some otehr law firm that always seems to be kicking the shit out of Corp Counsel. Fello Officers your gona wish you had an attorney representing you when your in federal courtfor doing your job and your lawyer is the inept Corp. Counsel taht got hired because moma & Dad kicked in some money to the mayor during afund raiser..... Big City Homicide Detective.
What we need is aa change in the Law. This can only occur when the citizenry gets fed up with the lawyers and decides to petition government.
The statutes should hold harmless any law enforcement agency, municipality, or governmental entity and the officer who justifiably injures/kills a person and the department/or government agency tasked, deems the shooting legally justified. Case closed.
This bullshit is why the city has no money and high property taxes.
nonsense
Is now a good time to ask for a significant pay increase?
Anonymous said...
What we need is aa change in the Law. This can only occur when the citizenry gets fed up with the lawyers and decides to petition government.
The statutes should hold harmless any law enforcement agency, municipality, or governmental entity and the officer who justifiably injures/kills a person and the department/or government agency tasked, deems the shooting legally justified. Case closed.
10/08/2007 06:38:00 PM
Sounds reasonable. Now tell me why we don't have a law like that? There must be a reason?
You don't realize how unworthy of police service this city is until you are sued. Work your ass of for years for the citizens of Chicago and no one cares when you are the defendant in a civil suit. Lesson learned: do nothing!
Lots of foul ups is putting it lightly, and the same clout -political hack supervision, and it just gets worse and worse, yet they have no accountability, only to make their kick backs to the Demoncrat Party. Never any demotions, can't upset the flow of doe to the Dem-Hoe.
Crookago, where incompetence is King, and the King is incompetent.
Not sure how to say this, but here goes. On Chicago Tonight last week there was a panel regarding allowing the aldermen to see the police records and how many complaints were on his record. What if those complaints were unfounded? Anyone can claim police brutality. What if it isn't true?
So, if they are allowed to see those records, how about everyalderman and his family,frieds and staff letting the public see how many arrests or felonies they have on their record.
What's good for the goose.......
Also, no one from CPD or FOP were there to dispute what was said although they were invited. Where is the outrage and protection for the majority of our officers? Who speaks for them?
Don't give the news media the fucking time of day,EVER!!! DemocRAT liberal loving cop - haters.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT;
Employees toiling under an abusive supervisor often rebel quietly and indirectly by slacking off on the job and handing in sloppy work.
Researchers at Florida State University surveyed more than 180 employees from a wide variety of professions, asking whether they had endured a history of abuse from their bosses, then asking a slew of workplace performance questions.
Employees with difficult bosses checked out in the following ways:
30 percent slowed down or purposely made errors, compared with 6 percent of those not reporting abuse.
27 percent purposely hid from the boss, compared with 4 percent of those not abused.
33 percent confessed to not putting in maximum effort, compared with 9 percent of those not abused.
29 percent took sick time off even when not ill, compared with 4 percent of those not abused.
25 percent took more or longer breaks, compared with 7 percent of those not abused.
“However, it is clear that employee-employer relations are at one of the lowest points in history,” researcher Wayne Hochwarter said.
Employees who did not have a belligerent boss were three times more likely to proactively fix problems and approach their supervisors with ideas to help the company
HEY HERE IS AN IDEA EVERYONE CPD SHOOTS THE FAMILY GETS MILLIONS OH SORRY WAIT THAT IS ALREADY BEING DONE BY DA FUROR RICHIE DALEY!
"Johnny didn't even have a gun to turn on the police officer;" he said. "He did something wrong, but he should have been punished through the juvenile system."
---
TRANSLATION:
Not punished at all!
Dead criminals as lottery tickets. Only in Crook County.
--
What are the various pols' cut??
SSC,
Let us start a Crook County Judical watch. Let's find out who their clout is and how much payouts they give. Who are the most winning plaintiff atty's and where they went to school and with who.
We can break this shit wide open!
"Anonymous said...
What we need is a change in the Law. This can only occur when the citizenry gets fed up with the lawyers and decides to petition government.
The statutes should hold harmless any law enforcement agency, municipality, or governmental entity and the officer who justifiably injures/kills a person and the department/or government agency tasked, deems the shooting legally justified. Case closed.
10/08/2007 06:38:00 PM"
and
"Sounds reasonable. Now tell me why we don't have a law like that? There must be a reason?
10/08/2007 09:31:00 PM"
There is, it's called the immense amount of corruption and favoritism we can expect from all the liars, aka lawyers, on both sides of the fence.
For every case of an idiot's family getting an unfair judgment like this one, there are plenty of truly valid cases against many 'public servants', other than the police, that are summarily dismissed, many for the sole reason of protecting the connected from being held liable for their harmful actions.
The Civil Courts are the only remaining resource for a citizen to seek redress, as the Criminal Courts avoid, like the plague, even considering anything less than the most egregious criminal actions of the powerful and wealthy.
Ask Dick Devine if he'd approve criminal charges against any of his boss's pals and associates, no matter how much more evidence is available to prove criminal conduct.
Then compare how often the most feeble 'evidence' is used to charge those of lessor means, with the old game of prosecutorial extortion being the most effective way of getting a guilty plea, thus avoiding having to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Do you really want the finding of fact and the determination of guilt/liability to rest solely in the hands of elected politicians and their clout monkey friends?
FOOD FOR THOUGHT;
Employees toiling under an abusive supervisor...
Thats why this blog exists.
Ten years ago, maybe less, 90% of this department wouln't take the exempts seriously. No one really listened to people like Maria, Screeming Steve, or especially C.W.---Equally they didn't take this seriously either. They new who they were, and they knew they where there for silly politcal reasons. NOTHING ELSE.
They get something you and I wont when they retire---A HUGE PENSION. and to secure that money they have to sell the souls of this department;IE you and I.
How ever, YOU and I will have a priceless retirement. Knowing we never sold our souls, and were the police. THAT they can never take away.
EXEMPTS; You can never take that away.
The biggest part of the CPD problem is lack of supervision or terrible, incompetant so called supervisors.
Click on the link below. On the left side of the screen, click on "juridiction hellholes". Our beloved Cook County is in the top ten.
www.atra.org
Cook County, Illinois
Cook County, Illinois, is known for its general hostility toward corporate defendants. It hosts a disproportionate share of the state's lawsuits, has experienced a surge in asbestos claims, and is popular for class actions. Courts there often allow burdensome discovery, put expediency over the rights of defendants, make evidentiary rulings that favor plaintiffs over defendants, and welcome claims with little or no connection to the county. While the area's once robust manufacturing sector has been dealt a severe blow, the litigation industry is booming
Anonymous said...
The biggest part of the CPD problem is lack of supervision or terrible, incompetant so called supervisors.
10/09/2007 03:17:00 AM
WE HAVE SUPERVISION? JUST A BUNCH OF WHITE SHIRTS RUNNING AROUND WITH NO CLUE!
Anonymous said...
The biggest part of the CPD problem is lack of supervision or terrible, incompetant so called supervisors.
10/09/2007 03:17:00 AM
***********************************
That and the "cry wolf" problem. When the hierarchy of the CPD puts out enough blatantly false information, it taints even obviously TRUE statements. Thus we are now in the place where OBVIOUSLY justifiable shoots are held in doubt.
Do Nothing and you do Nothing Wrong!!!
The Keesing Bandit says--
"Home invaders--the threat is gone..."
WTF?????
If they did one house, they will do another.
The next one may not have a armed copper ready to do the right thing.
Now, kees me you fool!!!
He committed numerous forcible felonies during the commission of the HOME INVASION!!! HE was sot because he was attempting to defeat the arrest by fleeing!!!! He posed a grave threat to the public ahnd the victims he had just victimized. His immediate apprehension was exigent, to protect the citizenry of this city. In other words, he should been shot!!!!!
"On the left side of the screen, click on "juridiction hellholes". Our beloved Cook County is in the top ten.
www.atra.org"
WHAT AN ASSWIPE. ASK YOURSELF WHY IS IT THAT 90% OF LITIGANTS ARE CORPORATIONS TO BEGIN WITH?
ONE DAY SOME ONE YOU KNOW WILL FALL VICTIM TO TORT REFORM W/ CATASTROPHIC RESULTS.
LET'S SEE WHAT TUNE YOU'LL BE SINGING THEN??
Kudos to
"Thanks for listening. Not a cop, just a mom."
10/08/2007 04:24:00 PM
Your father was a wise man.
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