JURY AWARDS MORE THAN $2 MILLION TO MAN WOUNDED IN '98 POLICE RAID

Federal jurors awarded more than $2 million Thursday to a 52-year-old
trailer mechanic who was wounded during a 1998 raid on his south Kansas
City home.

Officers raided the house in the 600 block of West 101st Street looking for
a methamphetamine lab, but found no evidence of one. After other officers
battered down the front door, Kansas City Officer Mark Sumpter shot David
Doran twice.

Jurors declined to hold Sumpter responsible for Doran's injuries.

Instead they penalized more senior police officials for failing to
supervise and properly train officers in the raid. Jurors also found that
the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners had been "deliberately
indifferent" in allowing its officers to illegally enter homes when serving
search warrants.

Attorney David Smith, who represented Doran, said that he hoped that the
jury's decision would spur the Police Department to better train its officers.

"The verdict shows there is nothing more sacred than an individual's
constitutional rights, especially the right to be safe in your own home,"
Smith said.

After U.S. District Judge Nanette K. Laughrey announced the verdict, Doran
said that he was pleased.

"I hope this type of thing doesn't happen to anybody else," Doran said.
"But overall, the police in Kansas City, Missouri, do a very good job."

Attorney Dale Close, who represented the officers and the police board,
declined to comment.

Police became interested in Doran in late July 1998 when an anonymous
caller said that methamphetamine was being manufactured and sold at Doran's
home. Several days later, police collected trash from near the house and
found drug residues.

Members of the Police Department's Street Narcotics Unit raided Doran's
home about 10 p.m. on Aug. 11, 1998. At first, they called out "Police!
Search warrant!" and then smashed the door with a battering ram.

Doran, who was asleep in his bedroom, said that he did not hear the
announcement, but was awakened by the battering ram. He grabbed a pistol
from under his pillow and walked into his kitchen.

Doran encountered Sumpter. Their accounts of what happened next differed.

Doran said that he realized that the intruders were police and dropped his
weapon. An officer then shot him as he was raising his hands.

Sumpter, however, said that he twice told Doran to "Get down!" and fired
only when he refused to comply.

Other officers on the raid testified that they did not hear Sumpter's call,
though Close noted that they were wearing respirators over their faces.

In closing arguments, Close said that Sumpter had reacted reasonably to a
man approaching him with a gun.

"Officer Sumpter didn't have to wait until he got shot," Close said. "He
fired because there was a weapon pointed at him. That was reasonable force."

Police found no methamphetamine during their search. They did recover a
small amount of marijuana, which Doran acknowledged using.

Doran spent 16 days in the hospital, eventually losing his only functioning
kidney. He said Thursday that he has returned to his job, but works in "a
diminished capacity."

Jurors concluded that the Police Department's procedure for entering the
home was improper, and that led directly to Doran's injuries. Instead of
knocking and waiting five to 10 seconds for a response, officers shouted
and immediately began battering the door.

In returning its verdict, jurors found fault with Officer Ty Grant, who was
the "ram officer" at the front door, and with Sgt. Eric Greenwell, for
failing to properly supervise the raid.

The jurors also found the police board liable for failing to put policies
in place to ensure proper training for serving search warrants.

In addition to awarding Doran more than $2 million to compensate him for
his gunshot wounds, jurors also gave him $15,000 to cover property damage
at his home.