Denver: $4.65 Million Award In Jail Death Case Too High
DENVER (AP) - Attorneys for the city of Denver are asking a federal judge to lower the amount of damages a jury awarded last month to the family of a homeless street preacher who died in the downtown jail.
In a motion filed Monday, the attorneys say the record $4.65 million the jury awarded to the family of Marvin Booker is excessive and unreasonable. They want a judge to lower that amount or grant a new trial related to the punitive damages.
The jury found five Denver sheriff's deputies used excessive force against 56-year-old Marvin Booker. Booker died in 2010 after deputies stunned him with a Taser while he was handcuffed, put him in a sleeper hold and lay on top of him to control him.
Booker attorneys oppose a new trial.
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