$2 million awarded to man shot by KC Police

? A man shot during a police raid was awarded more than $2 million by a federal jury.

The jury on Thursday 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.

David Doran, a 52-year-old mechanic, was shot twice in the 1998 raid on his home. Officers looking for a methamphetamine lab battered in the front door, and Doran was shot after he came out of his bedroom with a gun.

Officers found no methamphetamine but did recover a small amount of marijuana, which Doran acknowledged using.

Jurors declined to hold Officer Mark Sumpter, who shot Doran, responsible for his injuries. They chose instead to penalize more senior police officials for failing to supervise and properly train officers in the raid.

Jurors faulted Officer Ty Grant, who was the “ram officer” at the front door, and Sgt. Eric Greenwell, for failing to properly supervise the raid.

Doran’s attorney, David Smith, said he hoped the judgment would lead to better training for police 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.

Doran said he was pleased by the jury’s finding and also offered conciliatory words to police.

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

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 as soon as he realized that the intruders were police officers, he 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 attorney Dale Close noted that they were wearing respirators over their faces.

Close, who represented the officers and the police board, declined to comment on the verdict. But in closing arguments, he said that Sumpter had reacted reasonably.

“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.”

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.”