{"id":281202,"date":"2017-01-14T11:01:55","date_gmt":"2017-01-14T16:01:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rael.org\/?p=281202"},"modified":"2020-10-28T11:06:29","modified_gmt":"2020-10-28T15:06:29","slug":"revolutionary-precedent-everything-cop-owns-is-seized-to-pay-back-man-he-paralyzed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/noproxy.rael.org\/fr\/revolutionary-precedent-everything-cop-owns-is-seized-to-pay-back-man-he-paralyzed\/","title":{"rendered":"Revolutionary precedent: EVERYTHING cop owns is seized to pay back man he paralyzed"},"content":{"rendered":"
RAEL\u2019S COMMENT:<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n
Great! The same should be done with judges or jurors condemning people to jail who are later proven innocent after years of suffering in prisons.<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

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Palm Beach, FL \u2014 In what could be one of the most effective solutions for excessive force by police, federal marshals seized the personal possessions \u2014 from the sofa and lamps to clothing and an iron \u2014 of a South Florida deputy who shot a man holding a cell phone, paralyzing him.<\/p>\n

Palm Beach County Sheriff\u2019s Deputy Adams Lin spotted 19-year-old Dontrell Stephens in a \u201chigh-crime area\u201d \u2014 the man\u2019s own low-income neighborhood \u2014 on September 13, 2013, riding a bicycle in a manner the deputy found suspicious.<\/p>\n

Lin stopped the youth, who dismounted the bike with a cell phone in his hand and slowly approached the officer. Just outside the range of dash cam video, the officer shot Stephens four times \u2014\u00a0claiming\u00a0he was in fear for his life \u2014 but footage and evidence clearly showed the claim to be baseless.<\/p>\n

Three of the bullets remain lodged in Stephens\u2019 body,\u00a0according to\u00a0the\u00a0Sun Sentinel\u00a0\u2014 two in his arm and one in his spine, which left him paralyzed and dependent on a wheelchair for mobility.<\/p>\n

In a lawsuit against Lin and the sheriff\u2019s office, a jury awarded Stephens over $23.1 million \u2014 an amount later slightly lowered to $22.4 million \u2014 which, as standard practice, would come straight from the pockets of taxpayers.<\/p>\n

Since Florida law places a $200,000 limit on payouts like that awarded to Lin\u2019s victim, the case must go before Florida state legislature \u2014 but that may never happen. While the settlement languishes, Stephens\u2019 attorneys demanded Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw to make good on the $200,000 \u2014 but he balked and filed an appeal.<\/p>\n

U.S. Magistrate Barry Seltzer upheld the $22.4 million verdict in a 40-page decision, writing, as\u00a0cited by\u00a0the\u00a0Palm Beach Post,<\/p>\n

\u201cStephens lost use of his lower extremities, lost control of his bowel, lost control of his bladder, lost his sexual function and suffers constant and severe pain,\u201d\u00a0adding insight from another case,\u00a0\u201cPut simply, the enormity of the award is matched by the enormity of the plaintiff\u2019s damages.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the judge also understood Lin couldn\u2019t be stripped of all income, considering he has a daughter and family responsibilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn November,\u201d\u00a0the Sentinel\u00a0explains,\u00a0\u201cU.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Seltzer ruled that none of Lin\u2019s $82,400 in wages should be garnished to help pay off the judgment because he proved he was \u2018head of a family\u2019 since he provides more than half of the support for his 6-year-old daughter.<\/p>\n

\u201cLin pays his ex-wife $400 a month to care for their child, and he also picks up the tab for school lunches, after care, ice skating and taekwondo. His overtime is exempt, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

It seemed Stephens would not receive justice for being unjustly shot and bound to a wheelchair \u2014 but the deputy\u2019s personal possessions aren\u2019t exempt in the matter. So when Sheriff Bradshaw refused to pay, Seltzer gave the green light for federal marshals to seize everything of value from the deputy to be sold at auction to help pay the man\u2019s medical and living expenses.<\/p>\n

Four federal marshals came to Lin\u2019s townhouse to serve the court order, Stephens\u2019 attorney, Jack Scarola, told the\u00a0Sentinel, who reported:<\/p>\n

\u201cLin read the court order, became visibly shaken, and fainted, collapsing to the ground, Scarola said.<\/p>\n

\u201cParamedics were called and when Lin recovered, he sat on a sheriff\u2019s squad car and watched movers load up his belongings and \u2018empty out virtually everything \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Lin\u2019s daughter\u2019s possessions weren\u2019t touched, but,<\/p>\n

\u201cAmong the items taken: his car, couch, coffee tables, end tables, lamps, his collection of Samurai swords, flatscreen TV, iron, ironing board, computer, golf clubs, bicycle, tools, and almost all of his non-Sheriff\u2019s Office clothing, Scarola said,\u201d\u00a0according to the\u00a0Sentinel.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think we took any shoes and I don\u2019t think we took any underwear,\u201d\u00a0Scarola told the outlet, but\u00a0\u201cshirts and pants and shorts are all gone, jackets.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe left behind cups and saucers and dishes. There\u2019s nothing of any significant value in those.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scarola lamented that Lin\u2019s possessions had to be seized \u2014 an action he said he warned the sheriff would happen if the $200,000 weren\u2019t paid \u2014 but the horrific aftermath of the deputy\u2019s unjustified use of force must be addressed.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for Stephens, marshals, movers, towing fees, and other expenses from the seizure will have to be paid before he receives a cent \u2014 but the young man will eventually receive funds to assist with his expenses.<\/p>\n

\u201cI took no pleasure in having to do what we did, but we have an obligation to [act] for our client,\u201d\u00a0Scarola stated.\u00a0\u201cDontrell is very pleased we\u2019re making every effort to protect his legal interest. It was the only alternative open to us and definitely the right thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps, if law enforcement officers feared losing literally everything but the clothes on their backs, the decision to shoot \u2014 rather than de-escalate or employ a less-lethal weapon \u2014 might not come so quickly.<\/p>\n

Revolutionary Precedent: EVERYTHING Cop Owns is Seized to Pay Back Man He Paralyzed<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n