Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: LA Sheriff's Dept. Must Pay $15.9M > LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The sheriff's department must pay a > $15.9 million judgment to a family brutalized by > deputies during a raid on a bridal shower, an appellate > court ruled. > > California's 2nd District Court of Appeal on Tuesday > upheld a lower court ruling in favor of the 35 mostly > Samoan-American members of the Dole family who attended > the 1989 party. > > With interest and legal fees, the department must pay > more than $23 million. > > Los Angeles County Sheriff's spokesman Bill Martin > declined comment, saying the department hasn't seen the > appellate ruling. > > On Feb. 11, 1989, deputies in riot gear responded to a > complaint of loud music at a house in Cerritos. Some > family members attending the party were beaten and > suffered permanent injuries. > > Deputies claimed they were provoked by rock- and > bottle-throwing guests, but a videotape made by a > neighbor didn't show that and no evidence was found to > support the claims. > > The family's lawyer, Garo Mardirossian, said deputies > uttered racial epithets. > > ``Virtually every officer who showed up was white,'' > Mardirossian said. ``If you (had) a sufficient mix of > officers -- someone who had been racially sensitive -- > they could have avoided the whole fiasco.'' > > Thirty-six family members or friends were arrested, and > charges of resisting arrest and assaulting an officer > were filed against seven people. Three were acquitted > and charges against the rest were dropped. > > The Doles sued, and in 1995 a jury awarded them $15.9 > million for false arrest and use of excessive force. > > The three-judge appellate panel said Tuesday that the > trial produced substantial evidence to show that the > deputies ``simply entered the Dole house and arrested > everyone in it, without individualized probable > cause.'' -- Two rules in life: 1. Don't tell people everything you know. 2. Subscribe/Unsubscribe, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the body of the message enter: subscribe/unsubscribe law-issues
