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A Baltimore county judge on Thursday rescinded a jury decision that awarded $ 38 million to the family of a 23-year-old woman who had been murdered by police in 2016.
Judge Mickey J. Norman rejected the claims of the family of Korryn Gaines against Baltimore County and the officer involved, finding that the "economic damages inflicted on the various plaintiffs were excessive and shocked the conscience".
Wyndal Gordon, a lawyer for Gaines' family, told The Baltimore Sun that his clients intended to appeal the decision.
"It's devastating to a certain extent, but it's a very faithful family," he said. "It's not over."
The decision of Norman, a former police officer, comes about a year after a jury awarded the money to the Gaines family.
The jury concluded that a shot fired by the cape. Royce Ruby, who killed Gaines and injured his 5-year-old son Kodi, was unreasonable and violated their civil rights.
Norman decided that reserve immunity should be granted to Ruby, which protects law enforcers from any civil liability in the performance of their duties.
The shooting took place during a dead end at the Gaines apartment. Norman wrote that Gaines, who was armed with a shotgun, "is abruptly moved from a clearly visible place in the living room to a partial concealment behind a kitchen wall".
"The physical evidence is that she started to lift the shotgun, said Corporal Ruby that she was about to shoot him," he added. "Corporal Ruby was not obliged to be absolutely sure of the nature and magnitude of the threat that Gaines represented."
The police were at Gaines to hand him warrants, as well as his fiancée. Gaines was wanted for failing to appear in court on roadside charges.
Gaines' family filed a civil suit after state prosecutor Scott Shellenberger declared the shootings justified and refused to lay criminal charges. At the trial, Gordon said the police knew that Gaines was suffering from a mental illness.
The jurors in the civil case awarded Kodi more than $ 32 million and his daughter $ 4.5 million in damages, while Gaines' parents and his estate received smaller amounts.
Normal also overturned the jury's verdict that Ruby had committed several attacks on Kodi by writing: "This injury was unintentional and constituted the unintended consequences of Corporal Ruby's lawful act."
"Justice has not been done today," said Kenneth Ravenell, who represents Kodi, in a statement to the Sun. "We will appeal on behalf of the young Kodi Gaines. We will have more to say in the near future. "
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