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Jury Answers to the Shooting of Unarmed Dontrell Stephens by A Florida Police Officer


The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office has released dash-cam footage showing the shooting of 20 year-old Dontrell Stephens by Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Sergeant Adams Lin.

In September of 2013, Dontrell Stephens was pulled over by Lin for riding his bicycle improperly through morning traffic. At the beginning of the dash-cam footage we see Lin pull over Stephens on his bicycle. After Stephens gets off the bicycle we can see Stephens’ attempt to escape but Lin quickly puts four bullets into Stephens’ back. One of the four bullets penetrated Stephens’ spine, leaving him permanently paralyzed.

CNS News said, "Lin testified he shot Stephens four times because he reached for his waistband with his left hand and then flashed forward a dark object that he thought was a small handgun. Video from the dashboard camera in Lin's patrol car showed Stephens' left hand was empty and a cellphone was in his right hand."

Stephens’ unfortunate event has been recognized by his peers in a Fort Lauderdale District Court jury. The jury’s verdict concluded in favor of Stephens, giving him an award of $23.1 million. The award was later reduced to $22.4 million matching the full medical expenses for Stephens' recovery.

In a press conference setup by Stephens’ attorney, Stephens said, “I was glad the jury got to hear my testimony and knew I was telling the truth. It was an emotional feeling. I was very proud of the jury and (their ability) to be able to know I had spoken the truth.” Stephens also said, “You have to forgive people. You can’t hold a grudge against people even if they did wrong but I would like an apology.”

Stephens’ attorneys, Jack Scarola and Daryl Lewis, said they would also like an apology from Lin and Sheriff Ric Bradshaw of Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office but more importantly they would like Sheriff Bradshaw to admit that the jury’s verdict was correct.

Scarola said the money is important because Stephens “sleeps on a mattress on the floor, prepares meals on a hot plate and has no handicap-accessible facilities of any kind other than a make-shift wooden ramp to wheel him up the steps to his front door.”

In addition, Stephens’ has almost accumulated $2 million worth of medical bills. During the case, medical professionals projected Stephens will spend another $5 million in the course of his life on medical care and wheelchair attention necessary. Lin said he would do his actions again if put in the situation. Sheriff Bradshaw had his spokeswoman, Teri Barbera comment after the case. She said, "The jury verdict reached today is both shocking and disappointing.” Leaving the intentions that an appeal will be filed.

Source: PalmBeachPost

 

Exclusive Interview with Dontrell Stephens after Verdict

Original News Footage on Incident

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