After police shot and killed a Fort Pierce man back in 2014, the family of Gregory Hill Junior sued for wrongful death.
But after nearly two weeks of trial and 10 hours of deliberation last month, a jury in St. Lucie County sided with police in the case.
The eight jurors decided that Hill was largely to blame for his death because he was drunk during the confrontation.
Because of that, the jury award for the Hill family ended up being just four cents.
Attorney John Phillips said he’s filing a motion for retrial and that the case could be in the pipeline to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.
“They had four lines to fill in. Funeral expenses, they were $11,000, they awarded a dollar. Pain and suffering of each of the three children, a dollar, a dollar, a dollar. Then they found Mr. Hill 99% responsible because he was drunk in his home listening to loud music,” said Phillips.
In the meantime, a GoFundMe page has been set up for the Hill family. It’s raised more than $60 thousand dollars for Hill’s widow and children.
Melissa Ross can be reached at mross@wjct.org, 904-358-6382 or on Twitter at @MelissainJax.
Photo used under Creative Commons license.
