10-13-2015, 07:55 PM
Gun Dealer Liable for Police Officer Shootings
Here's a case that's getting national attention now that Hillary Clinton pledged to repeal the law that protects gun dealers and manufacturers from liability when their guns are used to commit crimes or are used to cause injury/death.
In this case, a judge allowed a rare civil case to be brought against a dealer because prosecutors showed a direct correlation between the gun sell and the crimes committed.
Today, jurors in Milwaukee County have ordered Badger Guns to pay almost $6 million to Officer Bryan Norberg and now-retired Officer Graham Kunisch, who were both shot in the face while in the line of duty in 2009.
The two officers sought financial compensation and sued for negligence, alleging that the West Milwaukee gun shop should have known that the gun used in their shooting had been sold as part of a "straw" purchase. In those cases, someone buys the gun on behalf of someone who is not legally permitted to purchase guns themselves.
At trial, the prosecution showed video of Julius Burton entering Badger Guns a month before he shot the two officers. He came with a friend, Jacob Collins -- paying him $40 to purchase the gun.
A federal form asks whether the buyer is purchasing the weapon for himself. At first, Collins said "no," and then changed his answer to "yes." He changed his address as well. The prosecutor said the Badger Guns salesman should have asked questions.
"Who is responsible when a criminal points a gun at point blank range and tries to kill them? Yes the criminal pulled the trigger -- but there needed to be a trigger to pull. That came from the straw buyer," Prosecutor Dunphy said. Dunphy contended that the illegal straw purchase should have been thwarted by the Badger Guns clerk and would have been if he'd followed protocol and regulations.
Badger Guns was also previously called Badger Outdoors, and at times was the No. 1 seller of firearms used in crimes in the U.S. — moving 537 guns that were recovered from crime scenes in 2005 alone, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Officers Norberg and Kunisch weren't the only members of the police force injured by a gun bought at Badger: Between 2007 and 2009, six Milwaukee cops were hurt by guns sold by Badger Guns or Badger Outdoors, according to the suit.
http://fox6now.com/2015/09/30/trial-to-b...gun-store/
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/gun-shop-fou...-officers/
----------------------------------------
Prior to this civil trial, Collins was sentenced to two years for straw purchasing and Burton was sentenced to 80 years for the shootings.
Here's a case that's getting national attention now that Hillary Clinton pledged to repeal the law that protects gun dealers and manufacturers from liability when their guns are used to commit crimes or are used to cause injury/death.
In this case, a judge allowed a rare civil case to be brought against a dealer because prosecutors showed a direct correlation between the gun sell and the crimes committed.
Today, jurors in Milwaukee County have ordered Badger Guns to pay almost $6 million to Officer Bryan Norberg and now-retired Officer Graham Kunisch, who were both shot in the face while in the line of duty in 2009.
The two officers sought financial compensation and sued for negligence, alleging that the West Milwaukee gun shop should have known that the gun used in their shooting had been sold as part of a "straw" purchase. In those cases, someone buys the gun on behalf of someone who is not legally permitted to purchase guns themselves.
At trial, the prosecution showed video of Julius Burton entering Badger Guns a month before he shot the two officers. He came with a friend, Jacob Collins -- paying him $40 to purchase the gun.
A federal form asks whether the buyer is purchasing the weapon for himself. At first, Collins said "no," and then changed his answer to "yes." He changed his address as well. The prosecutor said the Badger Guns salesman should have asked questions.
"Who is responsible when a criminal points a gun at point blank range and tries to kill them? Yes the criminal pulled the trigger -- but there needed to be a trigger to pull. That came from the straw buyer," Prosecutor Dunphy said. Dunphy contended that the illegal straw purchase should have been thwarted by the Badger Guns clerk and would have been if he'd followed protocol and regulations.
Badger Guns was also previously called Badger Outdoors, and at times was the No. 1 seller of firearms used in crimes in the U.S. — moving 537 guns that were recovered from crime scenes in 2005 alone, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Officers Norberg and Kunisch weren't the only members of the police force injured by a gun bought at Badger: Between 2007 and 2009, six Milwaukee cops were hurt by guns sold by Badger Guns or Badger Outdoors, according to the suit.
http://fox6now.com/2015/09/30/trial-to-b...gun-store/
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/gun-shop-fou...-officers/
----------------------------------------
Prior to this civil trial, Collins was sentenced to two years for straw purchasing and Burton was sentenced to 80 years for the shootings.