Former Banker and Hollywood executive, Brian Mulligan who claimed excessive force during an arrest in May 2012, sued two Los Angeles police officers John Miller and John Nichols for a cool $20 million dollars.
According to authorities, Mulligan was seen running (on foot) into traffic on a busy street in Los Angeles. When officers responded to the call, Mulligan was erratic, and resisted when officers tried to restrain him to get him into their car.
Mulligan claimed he suffered multiple nose fractures; a broken shoulder blade and a bloody head after the officers arrested him, but officers claim they were dealing with a man who was abusive, violent and high on bath salts.
According to WebMD: The effects [of bath salts] can include agitation, paranoia, hallucinations, chest pain, increased pulse, high blood pressure, and suicidal thinking/behavior.
Officer John Miller of the LAPD was cleared by a jury on Friday, and said afterward that he was relieved by the verdict.
“This means the world to me,” said Officer John Miller, his mother standing near him. “I am extremely relieved. This is the first time anything like this has happened to me as an officer.”
Miller went on to say, “I am happy the truth came out. We couldn’t say anything for months…. We knew the truth and we just wanted to get it out. The reason I was so fluid on the witness stand was I was speaking the truth.”
The plaintiff, Brian Mulligan had a top-notch legal team, however, according to Officer Miller and his attorney, they couldn’t change the truth.
After the verdict was read, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck made a brief statement to The Times.
“My thanks to the city attorney for their masterful presentation and to the jury for their thoughtful deliberation,” Beck said. “The decision was just. ”
The other officer in the lawsuit, John Nichols is on leave pending disciplinary hearings in another case. That case led to another lawsuit from a former police informant, claiming Nichols and another officer forced her to have sex.
The LA City Council agreed to pay $575,000 to settle this lawsuit, even though Nichols denied any wrongdoing.
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