Milwaukee Settles Civil Rights Lawsuit in Fatal Shooting by Officer who Shot Unarmed Latino man 8 Times in the Back
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From [HERE] and [MORE] The family of an unarmed Latino man fatally shot in the back by an off-duty Milwaukee police officer seven years ago has settled a civil rights lawsuit against the city, pending approval by the Common Council and Mayor Tom Barrett.
Wilbert Prado was shot in the back as he ran from Officer Alfonzo Glover after an apparent road rage incident on Milwaukee's south side in March 2005. About 10 bullet holes were found on the driver's side of the van Prado was driving. The autopsy lists the immediate cause of death as injuries to the heart and lung because of a gunshot wound to the back. In all, Prado sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the back, chest, lower extremities and groin. The incident started when Prado apparently began tailing Glover - who had just gotten off work but was not in uniform - on the freeway, flashing his headlights. Glover later said he pulled off on a side street, got out to confront Prado and was nearly run over. He opened fire as Prado fled, hitting him eight times, mostly in the back.
Glover was cleared by an inquest jury. But then-District Attorney E. Michael McCann charged Glover with homicide and perjury. Glover committed suicide the day he was charged.
The settlement amount was not disclosed. The city's Judiciary and Legislative Committee will take up the matter first, followed by the Common Council. Barrett also will review it. Officials from the city attorney's office did not return calls for comment.
Howard Schoenfeld, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs, said if the settlement is not approved by the council and mayor, the case will be set again for trial before U.S. District Judge Rudolph Randa. The settlement also must go before a Milwaukee County judge because the plaintiffs, Prado's daughters, 8 and 10, are minors, he said.
In a federal trial in 2010, a jury found that Glover was acting under color of law and used excessive force when he killed Prado, but that Glover was not acting within the scope of his employment. That meant the city avoided liability for the $1.85 million damages awarded by the jury.
Schoenfeld and his team appealed to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which ordered a new trial. The appeals court found U.S. Magistrate Judge William Callahan committed prejudicial error when he instructed the jury specifically that Glover could be acting within the scope of his employment even while exceeding his authority.
"Because the jury had to decide whether Glover used excessive force under color of law and whether his actions were within the scope of his employment, there was a great risk that jurors would conflate the two" issues, according to the opinion.
The court also took city attorneys to task for how they used evidence that Glover was later charged with Prado's murder, calling it "legally improper and highly misleading."
The city has settled several other civil rights lawsuits in recent years. Frank Jude Jr. received $2 million after he was beaten by off-duty police officers. The city paid $1.6 million to the family of Justin Fields, who was fatally shot by a Milwaukee officer as he drove away from police in 2003. Curtis Harris, who was paralyzed after he was thrown down by a Milwaukee officer also in 2003, received $3 million from the city.
