A Brooklyn jury has awarded a shoplifter $510,000 for suffering a broken ankle when being arrested, according to the New York Post.
The city of New York was sued by Kevin Jarman for the broken ankle he claims he suffered when cops arrested him at a Pathmark in Queens back in May of 2011. He filed the lawsuit despite pleading guilty to the crime.
The jury issued its verdict on Wednesday. Jarman has sued the city multiple times before. In 2005, he sued the NYPD for false arrest after a drug-sale charge was dropped. That was settled for $15,000. In November of 2013, he sued for false arrest on another drug charge that was dropped. That case was settled just last month for $20,000.
“Some of these verdicts are just nuts,” said a law-enforcement source. “There’s no rhyme or reason to the figure they come up with. These guys are getting huge paydays, and for what? A broken ankle? Half a million? To a shoplifter? It’s getting out of control.”
In the shoplifting lawsuit, Jarmin claims that Sgt. Samuel Morales walked up to him inside the Pathmark after a theft was reported by a clerk working at the store. The cop was just 5-foot-5 and the suit said that he was intimidated by the 6-foot-2 Jarman.
According to the lawsuit, Morales “appeared to be afraid of Plaintiff because of his size” prior to putting handcuffs on Jarman. Then, things reportedly turned interesting after Jarman was cuffed, which is when the officer yanked the cuffs and caused Jarman to fall over. Jarman claims that he could not stand correctly because the officer had his boot on his foot.
“Sergeant Morales, in effect, tripped Plaintiff,” the suit stated.
Jarman said he was shocked at the size of the award issued by the jury in the case, not the outcome.
“We are going to fight this verdict,” vowed senior city lawyer Muriel Goode-Trufant.