MagicMtnDan
04-28-2004, 05:11 AM
Jury awards $4.5 million to man who reported highway patrolman
April 27, 2004 LOS ANGELES - A California man who was repeatedly ticketed after he lodged a complaint about a highway patrolman was awarded $4.5 million after a jury found that police had targeted him for retaliation, his lawyer said Tuesday.
A jury in El Cajon on Monday ordered two California Highway Patrolmen to pay $4 million in punitive damages and $500,000 in compensatory damages for violating Steve GrassilliÂ’s civil rights.
Grassilli, 44, claimed he was maliciously cited for traffic violations 13 times in five years after he lodged a complaint against Officer Richard Eric Barr, who patrols the small town of Ramona near San Diego, where Grassilli has lived since 1990.
Several enraged jurors told local media that they decided to levy the multimillion-dollar award to send a message to the state police agency.
CHP Commissioner D.O. “Spike” Helmick said he was ”extremely disappointed and amazed” by the huge verdict.
“I disagree entirely with it. We will look at every way humanly possible to appeal it,” Helmick said in a statement.
Files complaint over removal of catalytic converter
In 1997, Grassilli filed a complaint against Barr after learning that the officer had removed the catalytic converter from his own truck but continued ticketing motorists whose vehicles lacked the anti-smog device.
According to testimony, Barr told a body shop owner in Ramona that he wanted the device removed so that he could more easily tow a boat.
“My client went to a local spot where they water ski and looked under the (officer’s) car and there was no catalytic converter,” Grassilli’s attorney Greg Garrison said. “He told (CHP), ‘I don’t care that he took his catalytic converter off, but he shouldn’t be issuing smog tickets.”’
A short time later, Grassilli was charged with filing a false police report after the CHP investigated and ruled that Barr had not removed the device from his car.
A judge quickly dismissed the misdemeanor charges but not before Grassilli ran up $7,000 in attorney fees, Garrison said.
Then came the traffic citations — for smog violations, having an obstructed view and for improperly hauling the huge water tanks that he installed for a living.
Court appearances cost thousands
All were dismissed by judges, but the court appearances cost Grassilli thousands of dollars, Garrison said.
The harassment took a toll on Grassilli’s business — driving off a supplier who also was ticketed and resulting in the impounding of Grassilli’s truck in a registration mixup, Garrison said.
“They had the discretion to do everything they did,” Garrison said. “They would never pull him over for speeding because that was an objective thing.”
A turning point in the six-week trial came when two CHP officers testified that they had felt pressured to lie under oath about the incidents.
Garrison said the case “has never been about money for Steve. He was certainly happy that he got the money that he got, but he wanted a message to be sent.”
April 27, 2004 LOS ANGELES - A California man who was repeatedly ticketed after he lodged a complaint about a highway patrolman was awarded $4.5 million after a jury found that police had targeted him for retaliation, his lawyer said Tuesday.
A jury in El Cajon on Monday ordered two California Highway Patrolmen to pay $4 million in punitive damages and $500,000 in compensatory damages for violating Steve GrassilliÂ’s civil rights.
Grassilli, 44, claimed he was maliciously cited for traffic violations 13 times in five years after he lodged a complaint against Officer Richard Eric Barr, who patrols the small town of Ramona near San Diego, where Grassilli has lived since 1990.
Several enraged jurors told local media that they decided to levy the multimillion-dollar award to send a message to the state police agency.
CHP Commissioner D.O. “Spike” Helmick said he was ”extremely disappointed and amazed” by the huge verdict.
“I disagree entirely with it. We will look at every way humanly possible to appeal it,” Helmick said in a statement.
Files complaint over removal of catalytic converter
In 1997, Grassilli filed a complaint against Barr after learning that the officer had removed the catalytic converter from his own truck but continued ticketing motorists whose vehicles lacked the anti-smog device.
According to testimony, Barr told a body shop owner in Ramona that he wanted the device removed so that he could more easily tow a boat.
“My client went to a local spot where they water ski and looked under the (officer’s) car and there was no catalytic converter,” Grassilli’s attorney Greg Garrison said. “He told (CHP), ‘I don’t care that he took his catalytic converter off, but he shouldn’t be issuing smog tickets.”’
A short time later, Grassilli was charged with filing a false police report after the CHP investigated and ruled that Barr had not removed the device from his car.
A judge quickly dismissed the misdemeanor charges but not before Grassilli ran up $7,000 in attorney fees, Garrison said.
Then came the traffic citations — for smog violations, having an obstructed view and for improperly hauling the huge water tanks that he installed for a living.
Court appearances cost thousands
All were dismissed by judges, but the court appearances cost Grassilli thousands of dollars, Garrison said.
The harassment took a toll on Grassilli’s business — driving off a supplier who also was ticketed and resulting in the impounding of Grassilli’s truck in a registration mixup, Garrison said.
“They had the discretion to do everything they did,” Garrison said. “They would never pull him over for speeding because that was an objective thing.”
A turning point in the six-week trial came when two CHP officers testified that they had felt pressured to lie under oath about the incidents.
Garrison said the case “has never been about money for Steve. He was certainly happy that he got the money that he got, but he wanted a message to be sent.”