News Mexico county pays man $3.75M after sheriff shoots him in the head while driving a tractor
Roosevelt County, N.M., recently settled a case for $3.75 million after
Sheriff Malin Parker shot an unarmed man in the head who drove a tractor in circles in an empty field. While the attorney representing Roosevelt County denies the sheriff acted wrongly, the injured man hopes this settlement sends a message to law enforcement leaders that resorting to lethal action should be a last resort option.
In a lawsuit filed in federal court, the suit states in January 2018, James McFarlin and his wife had an argument. While McFarlin was distraught, he took a front-end loader and rammed it into the family car. “He goes from smashing their personal property to driving the front-end loader across some public roads into about 120 acres of fields,” said McFarlin’s attorney Shannon Kennedy.
The suit states the Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Department began a low-speed pursuit, chasing McFarlin in circles as he drove at about 5 mph in a circle in an empty field. Body cam video shows the deputies were irritated that McFarlin would not stop the tractor. In their video,
you can hear deputies call McFarlin a “bastard” and they encourage Sheriff Parker to ”shoot him.”
According to the suit, Sheriff Parker first used his shotgun to try to flatten the tires. But, the tractor tires were too thick and the rounds could not penetrate the metal-reinforced rubber. So the suit alleges Sheriff Parker fired at McFarlin’s head next. “There is no crime (Mr. McFarlin) is committing in that moment and certainly no crime that warrants deadly force,” Kennedy explained.
Today, McFarlin is severely mentally disabled. “He cannot live alone,” Kennedy said. “He's dizzy and always in danger of falling. He has debilitating headaches. We had to establish a special needs trust and a conservator to help him through this litigation.” The $3.75 million settlement, according to Kennedy, will pay for full-time health care for the remainder of McFarlin’s life.
https://www.kob.com/new-mexico-news/4-investigates-news-mexico-county-pays-man-375m-after-sheriff-shoots-him-in-the-head-while-driving-a-tractor/6419682/?cat=500
Sheriff Parker
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