JUDGE SUSPENDS JAIL TIME OF MAN SHOT DURING RAID

VIRGINIA BEACH -- It was more than two years ago that Kevin J. Comeau was
shot in the hand when police SWAT team members raided his home, seizing
drugs and guns.

Comeau, who was in bed at the time of the raid, lost the use of much of his
right hand as a result of the injury. His ring finger was amputated.

On Monday, Comeau was given a suspended sentence after his attorney,
Stephen C. Mahan, successfully argued that prosecutors already had
extracted their "pound of flesh, literally as well as figuratively."

Comeau, who pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana, cocaine and firearms
on March 15, was sentenced by Circuit Judge Alan E. Rosenblatt to five
years in prison on the cocaine and weapons charges, and 30 days in jail on
the marijuana charge.

"You have learned a hard lesson a hard way," Rosenblatt said shortly before
suspending all of the jail time on condition of Comeau's good behavior for
the next five years.

Comeau, 43, was alone in his bed in a second-floor room in the 1200 block
of Princess Anne Road on July 28, 1998, when a police SWAT team burst into
the residence in the middle of the night.

He was shot through the right hand, and a piece of the 9mm slug lodged in
his chest. Police found quantities of cocaine and marijuana in the house.
They also found a revolver, two shotguns and a black-powder rifle.

Although Comeau admitted using marijuana, he denied being the drug dealer
for whom police were searching. He claimed he was a victim of mistaken
identity.

Police conducted the raid fully armed and ready for combat because they'd
been tipped by an anonymous source that there were guns inside the residence.

They claimed that once they were inside, Comeau lunged at one of the
officers and thrust his right hand forward, as if he had a gun. That's when
Comeau was shot, police said.

Comeau then fought with police as they tried to handcuff him.

In July, Comeau filed a lawsuit, naming as defendants the officer who shot
him, the city and the chief of police. The lawsuit seeks $1.5 million in
damages.

The lawsuit accuses Officer R.J. Smith of negligence. It also accuses
then-Police Chief Charles Wall of failing to train and supervise the SWAT team.

The suit accuses the city of knowing about "dangerous conditions" because
of earlier police shootings.