Darryl Barnes was initially awarded $76.4 million by a jury when he was shot in the back and paralyzed by a police officer 20 years ago. That was then reduced to $8.9 million by a trial judge. Now, Barnes will receive nothing except a bill for $100 for court costs.
The Shooting
On August 22, 1988 in New York, Officer Franz Jerome spotted Barnes running with a Tec-9 semiautomatic pistol. According to prosecutors, Jerome identified himself as a police officer and ordered Barnes to stop, but Barnes kept running. There was a short chase and Barnes fired a shot at Jerome. Jerome fired back, hitting Barnes. Barnes claims he was shot point-blank after he dropped the gun. He alleges he picked up the gun during a fight with two other men and did not see Jerome. He also claims Jerome was not in uniform.
The Aftermath
After 20 years and tens of thousands of dollars spent on court costs, the Court of Appeals refused to hear Barnes’ attempt to recoup millions of dollars two different juries ordered the city to pay him. The awards were reversed by a midlevel appeals court. The first appeal brought by the city in 1998 was the result of the city arguing that the trial court excluded evidence that Barnes belonged to an anti-white, anti-police group. This group advocates violent resistance to arrest.
However, in March 2003, Barnes did not show up to the second trial, claiming he was physically and mentally ill. Here, Barnes was awarded $51 million, which the trial judge then reduced to $10.75 million. This second verdict was reversed and dismissed by the appeals judges because Barnes did not appear to prove he was physically and mentally ill.
Barnes’ lawyer, Robert Simels is reviewing whether to take the case to the federal level and claims the Court of Appeals upheld a decision that is “1000 percent wrong.” On the other hand, the city’s top lawyer, Corporation Counsel Michael A. Cardozo, says, “This case became a poster child for the need for tort reform.”
Whether or not the actual shooting happened in the way Barnes and his lawyer claim it did, this case has more to do with the way damages are given to those a group of 12 people believe deserve it. We have seen many cases in which city appeals have and the subsequent rulings by judges seem to believe the juries were wrong. But then, that’s part of the law of the land, and one the citizens feel is probably just.
If you or a loved one has been seriously injured by a police officer, please contact a personal injury lawyer in your area.
