Manatee County to pay Bradenton man $413,000 to settle suit
Manatee County and the Florida Sheriff's Self-Insured Fund agreed to pay our client Raymond S. Elder, III, $413,000 to settle the Federal Civil Rights lawsuit that Marc Falco filed on his behalf.
Mr. Elder had to undergo surgery to remove parts of his pancreas, gallbladder, and liver, which were damaged during a beating. Because of those injuries, Mr. Elder is now an insulin-dependent diabetic.
The incident occurred on Thanksgiving Day after Elder's girlfriend broke up with him. Elder, a supervisor at Tropicana, was suicidal and stood in her driveway threatening to harm himself with a two-inch pocket knife. After a two-hour standoff with Manatee County Sheriff deputies, one of the deputies knocked the knife out of Elder's hand with a broomstick and seven deputies tackled Elder and beat him. He was handcuffed and placed in a deputy's car but was found unconscious shortly thereafter and without a detectable pulse. He was transferred by ambulance to Manatee Memorial Hospital where emergency surgery by Vincent Grant, M.D., saved his life.
The suit was vigorously defended by the county and the sheriff's department and, in fact, Sheriff Charlie Wells was quoted in the paper after settlement as follows: "I am here to tell you we would do it again."
This is just another example of the tough cases that we at Falco Law handle on a daily basis. We are willing to stand up for our clients and litigate in both state and federal courts against big corporations and insurance companies, as well as local governments and law enforcement, if need be. |
