In 2009 two Milwaukee officers stopped Julius Burton for riding his bicycle on the sidewalk, but Burton pulled out a gun and shot both officers in the face.
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Authorities later linked the weapon to 21-year-old Jacob Collins.
The case is the second to make it to trial since passage of a 2005 federal law granting broad immunity to gun dealers and manufacturers, the Journal-Sentinel reported.
Since that law passed a decade ago, no gun store has lost a lawsuit over gun sales – the only other case to reach a jury happened in Alaska, where a man walked into a gun store to buy a weapon, left with the gun before the background check was completed, leaving $200 on the counter, and then killed a 26-year-old. The jury fund for the gun shop in the first case.
“When we talk about the broader implications of this decision, they are not immediately apparent”, Everitt said, noting it was an “achievement” that the officers’ attorneys, including a few from the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, were able to even advance the case to be heard before a jury.
The officers’ lawsuit contended that Badger Guns broke the law five different ways during the sale of the gun Burton used, according to John Diedrich, who has been covering the story for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
A month after the gun was purchased, Burton shot the officers during a routine traffic stop.
Hillary Clinton recently said that she would try to get the 2005 law repealed if elected. He remains on the force but argues that his wounds have made his work hard. Before the sale, the buyer noted on a form that he was not the actual buyer, but the store clerk told him to say he was.
They ordered the gun store to pay Norberg, who was shot through the mouth, $1.5m, and Kunisch, who lost an eye and suffered brain damage, $3.6m, with an additional $730,000 awarded against the store in punitive damages.
Burton pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide and is in prison serving an 80-year sentence.
Badger Guns and its predecessor store in the same location just west of Milwaukee, Badger Outdoors, both owned by members of the same family, were the top sellers of guns that were recovered during crimes in the city for a decade.
Jason Collins, the “straw buyer”, purchased the gun for Burton, who was underage.
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Geske says the ruling against Badger Guns is likely headed to a much higher court. Attorneys for the plaintiffs and defendants did not respond to requests for comment.
