Police assault victim awarded $23.1 million

A federal jury on Wednesday, awarded a sum of $23.1 million to a US man after being shot four times by the police.

The victim, Dontrell Stephens was violated by Palm Beach County Sheriff, Sergeant. Adams Lin who took multiple shots at him in September 2013.

Stephens has been left paralysed because of the incident.

The incident happened when Lin tried to stop the victim from riding into traffic.

He claimed that Stephens had an object that looked like a small handgun on his right hand, prompting him to fire those shots.

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The object happened to have been a cell phone.

The case is being heard by a six-woman, two-man jury.

An appeal is expected and Lin's attorneys could ask Magistrate Judge Barry S. Seltzer to reduce the damages.

Stephen’s lawyer, Jack Scarola saw the victory as victory not only for his clients, but for law enforcement officers who have been unfairly stigmatized by unjustified violence against young black men by a small minority of their colleagues.

He said, "This will help good police officers do their duty and be far more effective in their communities".

The incident is part of a series of attacks on black people, especially male which has plagued the United States of America, among other issues such as gun violence.