WAYNE COUNTY, Mich. – A Wayne County man has won nearly $2 million in an excessive force case after being shot in the neck in 2016.
According to a news release from Fieger Law, Jeffery Strasser of Wayne County won $1,959,000 after a federal jury found that his Fourth Amendment rights had been violated.
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In 2016, on Christmas Eve, H.J. Corbin, a contractor working for the Wayne County Friend of Court, reached Strasser’s residence with the purpose of serving him papers. As Corbin arrived, Strasser’s chocolate lab happened to be outdoors and became inquisitive about the unfamiliar visitor.
When informed by Strasser that the dog was off-leash but friendly, Corbin proceeded to draw his firearm and aim at the dog, which was seated in front of Strasser.
The dog was hit, but the bullet managed to pass through her paw and became lodged in Strasser’s neck. Consequently, the fragments of the bullet lodged in Strasser’s vertebrae, leaving him permanently disabled.
Following 13 hours of deliberation on May 25, 2023, the jury reached a decision stating that Corbin’s close-range shooting at the dog violated Strasser’s Fourth Amendment rights, which protect individuals from excessive and unreasonable force.
The jury then awarded Strasser an amount close to $2 million.