Man shot at by sheriffs 100 times awarded $1.3 million

A man who was shot at 120 times by Los Angeles County Sheriffs  was elated Friday when he walked out of the Compton courthouse with a  $1.3 million settlement.
Compton resident Winston Hayes, 46, was the  target of excessive gunfire by sheriffs in May 2006.  Sheriffs were  investigating a report of shots fired in a Compton neighborhood when  they spotted Hayes vehicle and approached to question him. Unbeknownst  to Hayes and the sheriffs, an amateur photographer was shooting a  videotape of the incident.
Fearing that he was about to be assaulted,  Hayes, who admitted in court that he had been smoking cocaine and  marijuana on the night of the shooting and also admitted that he is  bipolar, began to slowly drive away. Nine of the bullets struck Hayes  and 66 bullets struck Hayes sport utility vehicle.
One of the  bullets hit Hayes in the head and he has partial paralysis on the side  of his face, said Hayes attorney, Brian Dunn of the Cochran Firm.  He  can see out of one eye, but the whole left side of his face is  paralyzed.
Other injuries Hayes sustained from the shooting included  multiple shots in the back, a partially severed finger and a bullet to  the jaw, which caused his paralysis.
Sheriff Lee Baca disciplined  all the deputies involved with suspensions of up to 15 days.  He made  changes to the departments shooting policy.
Michael Gennaco, head of  the sheriffs Office of Independent Review, also concluded that  deputies violated tactical and pursuit policies.
The jury, who  deliberated for 10 days, agreed that although the sheriffs used  excessive force, only two of the 10 deputies involved, Michael Haggerty  and Vergilian Bolder, were guilty of excessive force.
The videotape  that was shot on the night of the incident proved to be the key piece of  evidence in the 10-day trial.  It shows the entire incident and where  all the deputies were standing at the time of the shooting, said Dunn.   You could clearly see that Hayes car was going three miles per hour  and the deputies just kept shooting at the car.
Hayes, who testified  on his own behalf, tried to explain his past convictions for assault,  arson, theft and resisting arrest. But ultimately, jurors decided that  the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department needed to take  responsibility for their actions.
Dunn said that Hayes was  extremely pleased after the verdict.  Justice was done, said Hayes,  who had originally turned down the countys offer of $500,000 to settle  the case. In total, Hayes was awarded $1,326,468.60.
We do hope this  verdict will cause the Sheriffs Department to pay greater attention to  its relationship to the community, Dunn told Our Weekly.