Jury Awards Family of New York Man Who Died After Being Beaten by Police $35 Million in Damages

ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — The household of a Lengthy Island, New York, man who died after being crushed by police with flashlights and fists throughout a 2008 site visitors cease was awarded $35 million in damages by a federal jury on Thursday.

Frederick Ok. Brewington, legal professional for the household of Kenny Lazo, mentioned “justice has been served,” Newsday reported. Lazo’s household filed a wrongful dying lawsuit towards the Suffolk County Police Division, Suffolk County and 5 law enforcement officials in 2009.

“It was completely appalling how the Suffolk County police bodily abused and humiliated Mr. Lazo, then tried to cowl it up,” Brewington mentioned, “No household ought to need to undergo what Mr. Lazo’s household needed to.”

Jurors awarded Lazo’s household $13.5 million in compensatory damages and $21.5 million in punitive damages.

Lazo was 24 when he was pulled over by police on a ramp to the Southern State Parkway in Bay Shore. Marc Lindemann, an legal professional representing the police, mentioned Lazo, who was suspected to have made a drug sale and dedicated varied site visitors violations, was belligerent. He mentioned Lazo struck an officer within the head together with his elbow and reached for an officer’s gun, calling the chain of occasions “life-threatening” for the police.

“They used pressure that was cheap, acceptable and justified on this scenario,” he mentioned.

Brewington accused the officers of fabricating a motive to drag over Lazo and utilizing their authority to beat and humiliate him, together with stripping off his garments and sneakers and beating him when he tried to flee. Lazo, who was initially taken to a close-by police precinct as a substitute of a hospital, had 36 accidents all through his physique, Brewington mentioned.

Lindemann mentioned Lazo had superficial accidents that didn’t require hospitalization.

Lazo was later discovered unresponsive on the ground of a holding cell and brought to a close-by hospital the place he was pronounced lifeless. An post-mortem decided he died from cardiac arrest “following exertion related to extended bodily altercation with a number of blunt impacts.” Weight problems was additionally decided to be a think about his dying.

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