A federal court granted nearly $ 2 million compensation after he had determined that a FBI agent Was negligent when he shot a kidnapped man from Texas and killed during a failed rescue effort.
The mother and son of Ulises Valladares, 47, received the money as part of a civil lawsuit that was brought to Houston’s federal court, claiming that the man was helpless while he was bound and blindfolded when FBI agent Gavin Lappe shot him in a house where he was held in.
Lappe told the researchers that he only fired his gun when he suspected that a abductor had taken his gun after the agent broke a window to enter the house and did not know he photographed Valladares.
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Ernesto Valladares, brother of Ulises Valladares, will be interviewed on Friday 26 January 2018 opposite the house of his brother, the location where he and his son were held hostage days earlier. (AP)
But American district judge Kenneth Hoyt In Houston discovered that Lappe was “negligent, even roughly negligent, in his response” during the rescue attempt, and ruled that the agent was the only cause of the death of Valladares.
Hoyt said that Lappe shot on a silhouette in the window without confirming who he shot and that he fired his weapon despite no direct threat to him or another agent nearby.
Judge Kenneth Hoyt of the American district discovered that the agent was “negligent, even roughly negligent, in his response” during the rescue attempt. (Istock)
Lappe was protected against the lawsuit by qualified immunity, which protects the police against liability for misconduct. But the case was allowed to move forward against the federal government, which is not protected against liability.
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FBI agent Gavin Lappe was protected against the court case by qualified immunity, which protects the police against liability for misconduct. (Istock)
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Former police chief Art Acevedo van Houston said earlier that Lappe’s statement for shooting Valladares is not supported by evidence assessed by Police investigators.
The Associated Press has contributed to this report.
