National Roundup

Oregon
Jury awards man more than $3 million after officer accused him of trying to steal a car
SALEM, Oregon (AP) — A jury in Oregon has awarded a man more than $3.1 million after a police officer accused him of trying to steal a car he was fixing and allegedly used excessive force when arresting him.

That jury award included more than $2 million in punitive damages to Christopher Garza for false arrest, battery and the use of excessive force in the 2021 incident at a tire store in Salem.

Garza alleged in the lawsuit that on Sept. 17, 2021, Salem Officer David Baker grabbed him, shoved him onto the roof of his police car and handcuffed him with no justification for his arrest.

“Well, I feel vindicated,” Garza told Portland television station KGW-TV. “I feel good that justice has prevailed.

Trevor Smith, a spokesperson for Salem, said in an email Monday to The Associated Press that the city was evaluating the jury’s decision and had no comment.

Garza, a barber, lives next to the tire shop. He was with two other men and working on a car when Baker arrived and accused him of trying to steal the vehicle, according to the lawsuit. Garza said he suffered injuries to his neck, chest, wrists and left hand. He said he also underwent shoulder surgery for injuries suffered during the arrest, and that he thinks they might not fully heal.

“I went through one surgery, and I need another surgery,” Garza said. “My arm probably won’t work the same ever again.”

Kansas
Officer who shot and killed a man armed with a BB gun won’t face charges
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita-area police officer will not be charged with a crime for shooting a man walking toward him and refusing to drop a weapon that was later found to be a replica BB gun, the local prosecutor announced Monday.

Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said that under Kansas law, the Goddard police officer, whose name has not been released, is immune from prosecution over the death in February of 39-year-old Michael James Trask, of Lake Afton.

Bennett issued a 16-page report noting that state law protects an officer from being prosecuted for using deadly force when the officer “reasonably believes” it is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm to the officer or another person. The shooting occurred about 5 miles (8 kilometers) south of Goddard.

Bennett’s report said the officer tried to stop Trask for a traffic violation when a short pursuit began. After the vehicle eventually stopped and Trask left his vehicle with what appeared to be a gun, the officer repeatedly told him to drop the weapon, the report said.

Trask refused and continued walking toward the officer in what the report called a “deliberate” manner. The officer then shot at him eight times, hitting him twice.

A woman who said she was Trask’s wife later called dispatchers and said he was suicidal and armed with a loaded gun, according to the report.

“When the officer made the decision to pull the trigger, he was doing so in self-defense,” Bennett told reporters during a Zoom briefing.

Bennett said his office received the case about a month ago and authorities had to wait on the results of Trask’s autopsy, which was done in July.

New York
Columbia will set up fund for victims of doctor convicted of sex crimes, notify 6,500 patients
NEW YORK (AP) — Columbia University and a university-affiliated hospital announced Monday they will notify 6,500 former patients of disgraced gynecologist Robert Hadden of federal sex crimes that he was convicted of earlier this year.

Under the plan announced by Columbia and Columbia University Irving Medical Center, patients who were abused by Hadden over his decades-long career will be given the opportunity to apply for compensation from a $100 million settlement fund.

Victims can also sue under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, but the one-year window to file lawsuits closes after Nov. 23.

Hadden was convicted in January of four counts of enticing victims to cross state lines so he could sexually abuse them. He was sentenced in July to 20 years in prison.

Hadden 65, pleaded guilty earlier to state charges, admitting that he had sexually abused patients.

Federal prosecutors said Hadden sexually abused patients from 1993 through at least 2012 while he was working at the Irving Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

“We owe it to the courageous survivors and the entire Columbia community to fully reckon with Hadden’s abuses,” Columbia University President Minouche Shafik and Irving Medical Center CEO Dr. Katrina Armstrong said in a news release. “Columbia failed these survivors, and for that we are deeply sorry.”

Shafik and Armstrong said the multi-pronged plan to address the legacy of Hadden’s abuse will include an independent investigation to examine the failures that allowed the abuse to continue and the establishment of a center for patient safety.

Hadden’s accusers included Evelyn Yang, the wife of former presidential candidate and New York mayoral candidate Andrew Yang, who said Hadden abused her when she was pregnant with her first child.

Evelyn Yang, in a joint statement with accuser Marissa Hoechstetter, pressed the university to increase the amount of the settlement fund and to ensure that all of Hadden’s patients receive notifications before the Adult Survivor’s Act deadline.

“Although we are pleased by the university’s plan to support survivors and investigate its own failures, we remain committed to ensuring they follow through on these promises,” the statement said.

University officials said direct notice will be sent to nearly 6,500 former Hadden patients to alert them to his conviction and sentence and to inform them of their right to sue or to seek compensation from the settlement fund.

The fund will open in January 2024 and stay open for at least a year, they said.

An attorney for Hadden accusers said the former patients were being encouraged to participate in a settlement process that he said was underfunded and designed without input from victims.

“I do not support this plan,” Anthony DiPietro said in an emailed statement, “because Columbia’s proposal allows the university, and its lawyers, to retain all the power to decide the value of each person’s claim. While our state and federal court systems may be imperfect, they remain the best method to fairly and justly adjudicate civil disputes.”