A jury late Tuesday afternoon found for two wounded police officers in their nationally watched lawsuit against Badger Guns and awarded the officers $5 million. He remains on the force but said his wounds have made his work hard. James Vogts and Wendy Gunderson said their clients and the clerk who sold the gun were deceived by the straw buyer.
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Norberg and Kunisch, who said the shootings left them physically and mentally scarred, argued that Badger Guns negligently sold a handgun that ended up in Burton’s hands.
Such crimes included the shooting of several Milwaukee police officers, the newspaper reported, but secrecy laws protected the shop’s identity and a change of ownership within the same family and a tweak of its title to Badger Outdoors helped wipe out previous law violations. She said Beatovic and Walter Allan were ready to retire, not committing a conspiracy.
Officers Graham Kunisch and Bryan Norberg were shot in the face and severely injured in 2009 by a suspect who bought the gun secondhand, a straw purchase from a friend who bought the gun for him at Badger Guns of West Milwaukee. Jurors ordered the store to pay Norberg $1.5 million, Kunisch $3.6 million and punitive damages of $730,000.
“Lawyers for the gun store declined comment”.
During his testimony in court on Monday, Collins indicated Burton picked out the gun he wanted purchased.
The officers’ lawyer, Patrick Dunphy, told jurors that improperly marked forms and the behavior of the buyer, Jacob Collins, were obvious red flags that should have prompted the purveyor to cancel the sale. Gun shops usually can not be held liable for crimes committed by their customers, under a law passed by Congress during the administration of President George W. Bush. He said Collins and Burton went out of their way to dupe him.
Authorities have said more than 500 firearms recovered from crime scenes had been traced back to Badger Guns and Badger Outdoors, making it the “No. 1 crime gun dealer in America”, according to a 2005 charging document from an unrelated case.
Norberg and Kunisch cited those details in their lawsuit, saying they showed a history of negligence.
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Burton pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree attempted intentional homicide and is serving an 80-year sentence.
