Badges - Seminole County S.O. ordered to pay $3.2 million

From: Charles Rahn <c.t.rahn@xxxxxxxx>
To: Badges 1Badge <badges@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2011 23:50:01 -0400
Seminole sheriff pays $3.2M to Lotto winner shot by deputiesTwo deputies opened 
fire on Robert G. Swofford Jr. five years ago.Comments28Share22Robert G. "Bob" 
Swofford Jr., shown in a 2005 photo. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda / Orlando 
Sentinel) (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda, Orlando Sentinel / August 31, 
2011)TopicsLotteriesSeminole CountyFirearmsSee more topics »By Rene Stutzman, 
Orlando Sentinel2:59 p.m. EDT, August 31, 2011Robert G. Swofford Jr., the 
lottery winner who was shot and critically wounded bySeminole County deputies 
one night on his own property, has settled his federal lawsuit for $3.2 
million.Swofford, now 60, heard people on his property near Altamonte Springs 
the night of April 20, 2006, and went out to investigate with a semiautomatic 
pistol in his hand.Two Seminole County deputies, William Morris Jr. and Ronnie 
Remus, opened fire. They were trying to track a suspected burglar and had poked 
a hole in Swofford's fence and gone onto his property.They said they called out 
several times, identified themselves and told Swofford to drop his weapon. 
Swofford gave a different account. He said the deputies gave no warning and 
that he never pointed his weapon at them.He was hospitalized for six months. He 
would not give details Wednesday about his recovery or long-term health 
problems except to say, "There are still problems from it that I'll have from 
here on out. You don't take (a hit from a) 9 millimeter and walk away from 
it."Video: Best Viral Videos of Hurricane Irene
The 11-page settlement calls for the sheriff's insurer to pay Swofford $2.7 
million and Swofford's wife, Sharon, $500,000.It also requires Sheriff Don 
Eslinger to have a face-to-face meeting with Swofford and listen to what he 
says about that night.In addition, it requires the Sheriff to help Swofford 
qualify for a seat on the county's civilian review board, a panel that 
evaluates officer-involved shootings and whether they were valid.Swofford would 
not discuss the settlement. The Sheriff's Office issued a news release, saying 
it was not an admission of fault but was a prudent business decision.The suit 
was dismissed last week, according to federal court records. The parties came 
to terms July 7.Swofford filed suit four years ago in state circuit court in 
Sanford. It was transferred to federal court, where U.S. District Judge Mary 
Scriven ruled that the deputies' actions were not reasonable, therefore they 
had no immunity from civil liability.She also wrote a scathing order, 
criticizing the Sheriff's Office for destroying key pieces of evidence, 
including the officers' guns and their e-mail from that night and the months 
that followed.The Sheriff's Office said those pieces of evidence were 
unintentionally lost or destroyed.Swofford had won a $35 million Florida Lotto 
jackpot in 2004.
Badges - Seminole County S.O. ordered to pay $3.2 million

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