Judge agrees with award

Verdict of $22.4M ruled not excessive

Afederal judge on Wednesday ruled it wasn’t excessive for a jury to award more than $22 million to a man left paralyzed in a 2013 deputy shooting in Palm Beach County.

An eight-person jury found in February that Palm Beach County sheriff’s Deputy Adams Lin acted unreasonably or with excessive force when he shot Dontrell Stephens four times in four seconds during a traffic stop in 2013, west of West Palm Beach.

Stephens was awarded $23.1 million in February, of which $10.6 million was for pain and suffering and $6.7 million for emotional distress. His lawyers told the jury he has depression, pain and bed sores. After the jury award, attorneys agreed to reduce the amount to $

The Sheriff’s Office has “not shown that an award that amounts to $904 per day is unreasonable when measured against the harshness of Stephens’ daily reality,” wrote U.S. Magistrate Barry Seltzer. “Simply stated. [the Sheriff’s Office has] failed to show that Stephens’ award does not bear a reasonable relationship to the enormity of the harm he has suffered.”

Stephens’ attorney, Jack Scarola, said now he will begin the process to collect.

“This is a very much anticipated outcome,” he said of the judge’s ruling.

From here, Scarola said he expects the Sheriff’s Office to appeal. And if Stephens is successful on appeal, hewould be able to collect the first $200,000 immediately from the Sheriff’s Office.

But because the award is greater than $200,000, attorneys must seek approval from the Florida Legislature because the Sheriff’s Office is protected by sovereign immunity.

Regardless, hewill try to begin

collection from Lin. Because both Lin and the Sheriff ’s Office were named in the suit, both are responsible for the full amount, and only the government agency has some protection. Stephens’ attorneys have begun filing requests through court papers to learn Lin’s assets.

“We’re pleased this procedural hurdle is now behind us. [We’ll be] moving on to immediately to begin to collect as much of the judgment as we can from Deputy Sheriff Lin,” Scarola said.

Some assets are protected, but others can be seized such as a portion of his salary, non-homesteaded property, vehicles or bank accounts, Scarola said.

“There are lots of potential venues for collection and we’ll be exploring all of them,” he said. “Dontrell is in desperate need of funds. He is where he is now as a consequence of the unlawful actions of Deputy Sheriff Lin.”

Stephens, who lives in a Motel 6 room with his three brothers and is struggling financially, faces $2 million in past medical expenses and $5 million in future medical care, his lawyer has said.

Summer Barranco, attorney for the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

At 8 a.m. Sept. 13, 2013, Stephens, who was pulled over for dodging traffic while on his bicycle, was only holding a broken cellphone. But Lin would later say he feared Stephens, who was 20 at the time, was holding a gun.

Lin fired his gun four times, three of the bullets are still lodged in Stephens’ body: two in his arm and one in his spine.