Revolutionary Precedent: EVERYTHING Cop Owns is Seized to Pay Back Man He Paralyzed

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

Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Deputy Adams Lin spotted 19-year-old Dontrell Stephens in a “high-crime area” — the man’s own low-income neighborhood — on September 13, 2013, riding a bicycle in a manner the deputy found suspicious.

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 — claiming he was in fear for his life — but footage and evidence clearly showed the claim to be baseless.

Three of the bullets remain lodged in Stephens’ body, according to the Sun Sentinel — two in his arm and one in his spine, which left him paralyzed and dependent on a wheelchair for mobility.

In a lawsuit against Lin and the sheriff’s office, a jury awarded Stephens over $23.1 million — an amount later slightly lowered to $22.4 million — which, as standard practice, would come straight from the pockets of taxpayers.

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

U.S. Magistrate Barry Seltzer upheld the $22.4 million verdict in a 40-page decision, writing, as cited by the Palm Beach Post,

“Stephens 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,” adding insight from another case, “Put simply, the enormity of the award is matched by the enormity of the plaintiff’s damages.”

But the judge also understood Lin couldn’t be stripped of all income, considering he has a daughter and family responsibilities.

“In November,” the Sentinel explains, “U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Seltzer ruled that none of Lin’s $82,400 in wages should be garnished to help pay off the judgment because he proved he was ‘head of a family’ since he provides more than half of the support for his 6-year-old daughter.

“Lin 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.”

It seemed Stephens would not receive justice for being unjustly shot and bound to a wheelchair — but the deputy’s personal possessions aren’t 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’s medical and living expenses.

Four federal marshals came to Lin’s townhouse to serve the court order, Stephens’ attorney, Jack Scarola, told the Sentinel, who reported:

“Lin read the court order, became visibly shaken, and fainted, collapsing to the ground, Scarola said.

“Paramedics were called and when Lin recovered, he sat on a sheriff’s squad car and watched movers load up his belongings and ‘empty out virtually everything …”

Lin’s daughter’s possessions weren’t touched, but,

“Among 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’s Office clothing, Scarola said,” according to the Sentinel.

“I don’t think we took any shoes and I don’t think we took any underwear,” Scarola told the outlet, but “shirts and pants and shorts are all gone, jackets.

“We left behind cups and saucers and dishes. There’s nothing of any significant value in those.”

Scarola lamented that Lin’s possessions had to be seized — an action he said he warned the sheriff would happen if the $200,000 weren’t paid — but the horrific aftermath of the deputy’s unjustified use of force must be addressed.

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

“I took no pleasure in having to do what we did, but we have an obligation to [act] for our client,” Scarola stated. “Dontrell is very pleased we’re making every effort to protect his legal interest. It was the only alternative open to us and definitely the right thing to do.”

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

Cops Body Cam Catches Him Brutally Attack & Taser Man Walking His Bike on the Sidewalk

Mesa, AZ — Attorney and former police officer Anthony Ramirez says he was at first skeptical of his client’s claims of police brutality — until he obtained body cam footage showing an Arizona officer pulling up to Joshua Dombrowski, shoving him to the ground, and performing a vicious arrest.

Dombrowski had been walking his bicycle down the sidewalk in a straight line on August 14, when a Mesa officer pulled up, jumped from his cruiser, and slammed him onto the ground — an act the man says happened for ‘no good reason.’

Ramirez acquired the Mesa Police Department officer’s report stating Dombrowski “forced two pedestrians” to “move off the sidewalk” to give him space, so the unnamed cop told the man to “stop” — and pursued him when he paused and then rode off “at a higher rate of speed.”

ABC News, who obtained body camera footage from Ramirez, explained, “When the officer caught up with Dombrowski and told him to sit on the ground, the officer said the man dismounted his bike and instead proceeded to ‘advance on me,’ according to the police report.”

In that report, the officer stated, “As instructed and taught in training, I performed an impact push to the rider and he toppled backwards over his bicycle.”

According to the officer, Dombrowski would not comply with orders to put his hands behind his back, and continued resisting even after backup arrived to assist — leading them to deploy a Taser multiple times.

“Dombrowski, who police said continued to scream and ‘violently thrash around’ after being put in handcuffs, was also placed in restraints to restrict his movement, according to the police report. He was arrested on charges of using physical force in resisting arrest, operating a bicycle emerging from an alley or driveway, and failing to obey a police officer, the police report states,” ABC News reports.

Body cam video documents only the latter portion of the officer’s encounter with the man, as Ramirez explained the cop didn’t begin recording until after brutally taking Dombrowski to the ground — but the camera had a common feature which activates silent recording 30 seconds prior to when the button is actually pressed.

“When I saw that, I was very concerned,” the attorney told ABC News. “It’s our contention that the police officer knew what he was doing in not starting the video until about 25 seconds into his beating of my client.”

In footage, a number of officers swarmed on top of Dombrowski, smash his face into the grass, and bark commands for him to put his hands behind his back, while a Taser is heard repeatedly being applied. Throughout the encounter, he screams in obvious agony.

Dombrowski had to be transported to Desert Banner Hospital for treatment for myriad cuts, scrapes, and bruises received during the vicious encounter, where police claimed medical staff discovered traces of methamphetamines, cocaine, alcohol, and THC in his system.

It must be noted, however, Ramirez said Dombrowski has not been charged with anything.

Also troubling in police accounts of the incident, an assisting officer’s body cam footage shows him asking a bystander to write a witness statement — and the perplexed man tells the cop, “I … I don’t know what the guy did wrong.”

The cop tells the eyewitness not to “make anything up,” and to simply “write what you saw” — but when the troubled man begins to tell the officer something about the recent national spate of “police brutality,” the cop becomes tellingly silent and motions to indicate their interaction is being recorded by his body cam, stating, “I’m rolling.”

“Don’t make anything up,” the officer states. “… Whatever you saw, just be as honest as you can.”

Ramirez told ABC News he’s troubled by the brutal nature of the arrest, and said Dombrowski had indeed been riding on the sidewalk, heard the officer yelling in his direction, but — not believing he’d done anything wrong — wasn’t certain the cop was speaking to him or one of many other people in the area.

So he proceeded to dismount and walk the bicycle down the sidewalk — until the officer pulled up and abruptly shoved him to the ground.

“Obviously, I have an issue of excessive force being used against my client for walking down the sidewalk,” Ramirez noted. “My client was literally pushing his bike down the street, walking in a straight line, and this police officer comes over and shoves him down.”

Further, though police claim the man resisted arrest and failed to comply with orders to put his hands behind his back, Ramirez contended that Dombrowski — who sported a backpack at the time — had not resisted, but was reacting to the pain of being repeatedly tasered.

Dombrowski filed his own claim against the City of Mesa before hiring Ramirez, alleging he was “abused, pushed into the ground, aggressed and manhandled for no good reason.”

Mesa police declined to provide comment to ABC News, citing “an ongoing internal investigation.”

In Dombrowski’s original claim — which Ramirez is working to update and specify a monetary sum — he states,

“I was just trying to find my way back home. I believe I was treated like a danger or a threat that I wasn’t being.”

Family Sues After Cops Shot 6yo Autistic Boy and Watched Him “Suffer Immensely” As He Died

Marksville, LA — A federal lawsuit has now been filed against several Louisiana law enforcement agencies for the fatal shooting of six-year-old Jeremy Mardis, who “suffered immensely” on November 3, 2015, due to “a barbaric and excessive use of deadly force.”

Attorneys representing Christopher Few, Jeremy’s father, who suffered serious injuries in the incident; mother, Catherine Mardis; and Candace Few, whose vehicle her brother, Christopher, drove the night of the shooting, filed a federal civil lawsuit on Thursday in an attempt at justice for the needless death of the young child.

In fact, video footage of the incident so shocked Louisiana State Police Col. Mike Edmonson, he told reporters in November, “It is the most disturbing thing I’ve seen, and I will leave it at that.”

According to the lawsuit, referenced by KLFY, defendants include “Norris Greenhouse Jr. and Derrick Stafford, the two former Marksville Ward 2 deputy marshals facing second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder in the case. Both pleaded not guilty and are facing separate trials.

“But the lawsuit also names as defendants Marksville City Marshal Floyd Voinche, the Marksville City Court, the town of Marksville, Avoyelles Parish, Progressive Paloverde Insurance Company and the other two officers involved in the chase of Few that night — Jason Brouillette and Kenneth Parnell III.”

On November 3, 2015, according to the original police account, the four officers were attempting to serve a warrant for Few — who then fled in his sister’s Kia Sport, with Jeremy buckled in the passenger seat.

Police had claimed Few was armed and posed an imminent deadly threat — so Officers Greenhouse and Stafford opened fire — emptying 18 rounds at the vehicle, critically injuring Few and killing the 6-year-old, who had autism.

In actuality, no warrant had been issued for Few, and both father and son were unarmed — indeed, as video evidence shows, Few had his hands in the air when he received “two or three” bullets to the head and chest, while Jeremy suffered “four or five” shots to the head and neck.

Appallingly, Jeremy languished in agony, still holding onto life for over five minutes after being shot multiple times — but officers failed to even check for a pulse or render assistance.

“During this time, Jeremy was bleeding profusely and suffered immensely due to the gunshot wounds,” the lawsuit states, according to KFLY.

“It was not until approximately some seven and one-half to eight minutes or so after the hail of gunfire, that an officer at the scene, believed to be Parnell, finally checked Jeremy for a pulse and discovered that he was still alive, despite having been shot multiple times including in the head and neck,” it reads.

“However, none of the officers at the scene, including Stafford, Greenhouse, Brouillette and Parnell initiated or rendered any form of first aid, nor did they undertake any other measures in an attempt to stop Jeremy’s bleeding or otherwise alleviate or mitigate Jeremy’s suffering, or made any attempts to save his life.

“Sadly, Jeremy was left to suffer — and die — while the officers casually searched for ‘gloves.’”

An exact motive for the original traffic stop — given the fictitious claim of a warrant and that Few did not have a weapon — has yet to be publicly released by officials. Attorneys for Greenhouse and Stafford stated during court proceedings Few had been standing in the road, blocking traffic, ignored officers’ commands, and then fled the scene.

But the lawsuit contends there had been no clear reason for police to pursue the vehicle Few was driving, and when he ultimately did pull over, the vehicle, “even if it were moving forward or backwards — did not and could not have presented an imminent threat of death or great bodily harm to any of the officers at the scene or innocent bystanders.”

As video clearly shows, Few pulled to the side of the road, raised his arms above his head and made no threatening gestures — in other words, he posed not even the slightest legitimate threat to their safety. The lawsuit continues:

“Moreover, at the time the pursuit of Christopher was initiated, and thereafter during the pursuit, none of the officers had reasonable or probable cause to believe that Christopher had committed some crime, was committing a crime or was about to commit a crime. The pursuit was unlawful, as was the subsequent use of deadly force.”

Fatally shooting a 6-year-old child wasn’t the first brutal act by either Stafford or Greenhouse. As The Free Thought Project reported, the pair of rageful cops have a history of brutalizing their town with impunity — and as the lawsuit notes, it seems no vetting procedure was in place when Greenhouse and Stafford were hired.

Additionally, when attorneys made a public records request with Marksville City Marshal Floyd Voinche for hiring, training, and disciplinary guidelines concerning deputy marshals, they received a telling one-sentence reply: “No such records exist.”

“The need for such policies is so obvious,” KFLY quotes the lawsuit, “for the safety of the public and the protection of constitutional rights that the lack of such policies constitutes deliberate indifference and a reckless disregard for the public and plaintiffs’ constitutional rights.”

But the fact it took an innocent 6-year-old’s death to force the city to examine such policies is endemic of brutal policing in the United States — and one means officers can employ to work around appropriate discipline is to resign and simply move on to the next department.

In late September, in a stunning act of hubris, Stafford again requested charges be dropped since he acted in self defense — despite damning evidence to the contrary.

The family of Jeremy Mardis is requesting a jury trial in this lawsuit.