Cleveland Settles in Lawsuit Over Seizure of Gun Despite Lack of Charges
Paying $6750
Cleveland has agreed to give Derrick Washington his gun back and pay $6,750 in a settlement over a federal lawsuit that drew outrage from gun-rights advocates over the police department's seizure of Washington's weapon in a case in which he was never charged.
A settlement agreement released this week said the city would release Washington's .38-caliber Taurus and pay him $1,000. The gun, according to court records, cost him about $400. The city also paid $5,500 in fees for his attorney, J. Gary Seewald, and $250 in court costs.
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Maybe the police department learned a lesson but I won't hold my breath. They want to be the only one's to have firearms. The problem with that thinking is this:
Whoever holds a monopoly on firearms will also hold a monopoly on firearms violence. Does anyone want the government to hold that monopoly?