Brickbat: Cop Out
A Colorado jury awarded former New Jersey investment manager Robert Dial $24 million after finding that a police detective wrongfully arrested him in connection with a 2022 shooting involving Dial's son. According to the lawsuit, Detective Shannon Brukbacher of the Parker Police Department was upset that Dial hired a lawyer for his son, and she repeatedly pressed him for information, even though Dial was in another state and had told his son to cooperate with police. Brukbacher later accused Dial of helping hide a gun, even though officers found it immediately at the scene, and prosecutors dropped the charges just a few weeks later. The arrest permanently cost Dial his license to work in the financial industry, effectively ending his career. Although the jury ruled in Dial's favor, Brukbacher is retired and likely does not have enough money to personally pay the judgment, meaning Dial will probably never collect most of the judgment.