Man paralyzed in arrest gets $2.5M/Man paralyzed during arrest gets $2.5 million from St. Augustine

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Man paralyzed in arrest gets $2.5M
St. Augustine settles

ST. AUGUSTINE - A man who has been paralyzed since his November 2001 arrest will receive $2.5 million in a settlement of a suit with the city of St. Augustine.

Marshall Burns will get $1 million from the city's insurance company and $500,000 from the city within 15 days. The city will pay him the additional $1 million in periodic payments over five years beginning in July 2004.

Burns, 26, has been paralyzed from the neck down since he was arrested during an altercation at Christopher's nightclub on Anastasia Island.

Burns will use the money to buy a bigger house. He'll also get better equipment and better care, said his mother, Lucretia Burns.

The lawsuit claimed the city, Police Department and the two police officers who arrested Burns were negligent and violated his constitutional rights.

The night of Burns' arrest, witnesses said he yelled, cursed and made a fist toward a police officer when he tried to get Burns to leave the club.

The officer, with the help of the club's owner, eventually pushed Burns to the ground and handcuffed him. Another officer assisted in the arrest.

Some witnesses said Burns told police when he was on the ground at the nightclub that he couldn't feel his legs. He later was diagnosed with a broken neck and a spinal cord injury.

Charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest with violence were dropped.


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http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/news/local/6059609.htm

[Max]

Man paralyzed during arrest gets $2.5 million from St. Augustine

Wednesday, June 11, 2003

Associated Press



ST. AUGUSTINE - A man who has been paralyzed since his November 2001 arrest will receive $2.5 million in a settlement of a suit with this city.

Marshall Burns will get $1 million from the city's insurance company and $500,000 from the city within 15 days. The city will pay him the additional $1 million in periodic payments over five years beginning in July 2004. Burn's attorney, Daryl Parks of Tallahassee, will receive $625,000 of the $2.5 million.

Burns, 26, has been paralyzed from the neck down since he was arrested during an altercation at Christopher's nightclub on Anastasia Island.

Burns will use the money to buy a bigger house. He'll also get better equipment and better care, his mother Lucretia Burns said.

The lawsuit claimed the city, police department and the two police officers who arrested Burns were negligent and violated his constitutional rights.

All claims against the officers will be dropped as part of the settlement, City Attorney Jim Wilson said. The city also maintains it is not responsible for Burns' injuries.

The night of Burns' arrest, witnesses said he yelled, cursed and made a fist toward a police officer when he tried to get Burns to leave the club.

The officer, with the help of the club's owner, eventually pushed Burns to the ground and handcuffed him. Another officer assisted in the arrest.

Some witnesses said Burns told police when he was on the ground at the nightclub that he couldn't feel his legs. He later was diagnosed with a broken neck and a spinal cord injury.

Charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest with violence were dropped.

An internal police investigation exonerated the two officers who arrested him.

A separate suit Burns filed against the nightclub and its owner was settled last year