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True Vindication!! Korryn Gaines’ Family Gets Awarded $37M In Damages For Her Death By The Baltimore Police

The family of Korryn Gaines can breathe a sigh of relief and her son Kodi will be taken care of for the rest of his life. A jury awarded the family $37 million dollars stating the civil rights of Gaines were violated by the Baltimore Police.

This is vindication at its best and too many lives are lost due to overzealous police officers who use excessive force as a means of adequate police work. Their training or possibly a lack thereof is supposed to help them to do their job with minimal lives lost.

Read more as reported by The Root:

Photo Credit: Facebook (Korryn Gaines)

A Maryland jury has awarded the family of Korryn Gaines more than $37 million in damages in their civil lawsuit against Baltimore County for the death of Gaines, who was shot to death by a police officer in August 2016.

The six-woman jury found that both Gaines and her son, Kodi—who was injured during the shooting—had their civil rights violated under state and federal statutes because the first shot fired by the officer who killed Gaines was not reasonable, the Baltimore Sun reports.

After less than three hours of deliberation, the jury awarded Kodi more than $32 million in damages and awarded his sister, Karsyn, $4.5 million. Gaines’ mother and father were awarded $307,000 and $300,000, respectively, and $300,000 was awarded to the Gaines estate. There were no punitive damages.

According to the Sun, the Gaines family was tearful after the verdict was announced.

On the other side, Baltimore County government attorney Mike Field said in a statement that the county was “disappointed” with the decision and “is reviewing all of its options, including an appeal.”

“A mother died, a child was unintentionally injured, and police officers were placed in mortal danger. By any account, this was a tragic situation,” Fields said.

Gaines’ family alleged civil rights violations and filed the lawsuit against the county as well as Cpl. Royce Ruby, who fired the deadly shots on Aug. 1, 2016. The suit sought more than $42 million for Gaines’ estate and her survivors.

The jury reached its verdict after nearly three weeks of testimony and legal arguments.

Gaines’ case garnered national attention after videos she broadcast of the standoff went live on social media. Activists cited her shooting as yet another example of police officers using excessive force against black people.

Source: The Root

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