Federal jury awards $350,000 to mother of young man shot by police officer in Bridgeport
Antonio Ponvert III of the Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder, PC firm represented the mother of a 21-year old Bridgeport man who was shot in the back as he ran from a city detective eight years ago.
A federal jury returned a rare verdict against a police officer Friday, awarding $350,000 to the mother.
The jury in New Haven concluded that the qualified immunity that regularly shields officers from liability in use of force cases did not apply to Detective Christopher Barona in the fatal April 1, 2013 shooting of Bryan Stukes.
“Justice is served,” said attorney Antonio Ponvert III, who tried the case for Melissa Gibbs, mother of Bryan Stukes. “Police officers are not above the law. Police officers must tell the truth when they violate a citizen’s rights. Police officers will be held accountable when they commit unlawful acts and then try to escape responsibility. The jury heard us, they passed judgment on a corrupt and broken system.”
Original story published on The Hartford Courant
Case Type: Wrongful Death, Police Misconduct
Original Story
Law Firm
Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder, PC
URL
Social Handles
Twitter- https://twitter.com/KoskoffBieder
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/koskoff-koskoff-and-bieder/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=179876965411598