$15,000 For Bruised Marbles

(Oakland, California) After an adrenaline-charged chase of a bank robber, a policeman kicked the criminal in the groin. As a result, the city of Oakland will pay the felon the sum of $15,000.

Troy Barnes robbed the Wells Fargo Bank on Fruitvale Avenue on Aug. 21, 1998. He led officers on a chase and crashed into a park ranger's car on Golf Links Road in East Oakland. Barnes was shot -- apparently seven times by numerous officers who fired 51 shots -- after police spotted him holding a 9mm semiautomatic pistol.

Officer Edwin Somarriba was seen on a television news videotape kicking Barnes between his legs after he had been shot and lay bleeding on the ground.

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Barnes, a three-time convicted bank robber, was found guilty in the 1998 bank holdup of two counts of robbery, brandishing a weapon and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He is serving a lengthy prison sentence at Salinas Valley State Prison.

Attorney Michael Rains of Pleasant Hill, whose firm represented Somarriba, said Wednesday of the officer's kick, "It was not done sadistically or maliciously. It was done to control and not to punish. The kicking was to distract."

Now, get this. Barnes is a Muslim who wants to donate half his settlement to mosques and the other half to his granddaughter. What a bunch of hooey. After his lawyer sucks his fee from the $15,000, Barnes will be lucky just to have enough left to buy a few cartons of cigarettes.

And another thing. What's the story with the police force that couldn't shoot straight. Holy moley! All they needed was one cop able to hit the target and Barnes would be in the morgue. End of story.

Companion post at Backcountry Conservative