Baltimore County jury awards $37M to family of police shooting victim

2/16/18
 
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from FoxNews,
2/16/18:

The family of a Maryland woman who was fatally shot by police in 2016 after a six-hour standoff in her apartment was awarded more than $37 million Friday.

The jury took several hours to reach its decision in the case of Korryn Gaines, 23, who was shot by police Cpl. Royce Ruby, the Baltimore Sun reported.

The family had filed its civil lawsuit against the Baltimore County government and Ruby, the newspaper reported.

The jury of six women found that the first shot, which killed Gaines and wounded her then 5-year-old son, Kodi, was not reasonable and violated their civil rights under state and federal statutes, according to the newspaper.

Ruby was previously cleared of criminal wrongdoing by the State’s Attorney. He wasn’t charged and has since been promoted.

Assistant County Attorney James S. Ruckle Jr. argued in closing for the defense Friday that Ruby had acted reasonably and out of fear that other officers could be hurt or killed.

He told jurors two officers had tried to serve arrest warrants on Gaines and her fiance that day. When no one would open the apartment door, officers eventually kicked it in, jurors heard. He said the first officer who entered the apartment was “confronted with Korryn Gaines with a shotgun pointed right at him.”

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