Judgment in cop abuse case reinstated

CARSON CITY, Nev., March 5 (UPI) -- A $180,000 judgment against a Las Vegas police officer accused of assaulting a civilian in 2001 should be reinstated, a federal appeals court has ruled.

The Las Vegas Sun reported Wednesday that the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled a U.S. District judge was wrong to overturn a jury's finding against Officer Eugene Engle of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

U.S. District Judge Robert Jones overturned the jury decision regarding the 2001 assault, claiming Engle was protected from such claims by qualified immunity. Jones also found that the jury had reached an unreasonable ruling by awarding $175,000 in compensatory damages and $5,000 in punitive damages to Engle's alleged victim, Christopher Tortu.

Tortu claims his testicles were violently squeezed by Engle for nearly 10 seconds in July 2001 after police officers removed him from an airplane he had boarded without a ticket.

While Engle was initially found liable by jurors who heard Tortu's ensuing lawsuit, two other officers were cleared in the matter.

The Sun said the appeals court ruled the jury's judgment wasn't excessive, adding the required motions weren't made to allow Jones to overturn the judgment.