Post by WaTcHeR on May 23, 2006 9:21:24 GMT -5
05/23/2006 - PORTAGE, Wis. - The family of a Portage man who died while in police custody has settled a lawsuit against several officers and the police department for 950-thousand dollars.
Keith Galster was shot in the head at close range while his hands were cuffed behind his back during an arrest in October 2004.
The attorney for Galster's family, Robert Gingras, says the wrongful death lawsuit was settled without any finding of wrongdoing.
Galster's mother, Judy Johnson, claimed police shot her son.
But, officers testified during an inquest that Galster shot himself. Reconstruction experts used computer illustrations to show how Galster could have ended up in a position to shoot himself in the head during the arrest. An inquest jury advised the Columbia County district attorney that the shooting was a suicide. No charges were ever filed.
A trial in the family's federal civil lawsuit against police was to have started June 19th.
Keith Galster was shot in the head at close range while his hands were cuffed behind his back during an arrest in October 2004.
The attorney for Galster's family, Robert Gingras, says the wrongful death lawsuit was settled without any finding of wrongdoing.
Galster's mother, Judy Johnson, claimed police shot her son.
But, officers testified during an inquest that Galster shot himself. Reconstruction experts used computer illustrations to show how Galster could have ended up in a position to shoot himself in the head during the arrest. An inquest jury advised the Columbia County district attorney that the shooting was a suicide. No charges were ever filed.
A trial in the family's federal civil lawsuit against police was to have started June 19th.