Former Milwaukee police officers
Graham Kunisch (right) and Bryan
Norberg were severely wounded with a
pistol that a local gun shop sold to
a straw buyer in 2009.
MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee state
court jury ordered Badger Guns, one
of the country’s most prominent
firearm retailers, to pay $5.73
million after the suburban West
Milwaukee store was found liable for
negligence Tuesday in the 2009
shooting of
Bryan Norberg and
Graham Kunisch, two local law
enforcement officers.
The landmark case, which held
firearm retailers responsible for
disregarding the potential harm of
their sales, is only the second of
its kind nationwide — and the first
to rule against the gun store.
(The other case, concluded early
this summer, exonerated an Alaskan
gun store of wrongdoing.)
The defense attorney,
James Vogts, told the
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that
he intends to appeal. He argued at
trial that Badger Guns owner
Adam Allan couldn’t be held
financially responsible for crimes
connected to a weapon sold at the
store.
A federal law passed in 2005
granted blanket civil immunity to
gun manufacturers and dealers, but
with several exceptions. Among these
is “negligent entrustment” of a
buyer with a firearm, for which the
jury found Badger Guns liable.
The case against the store began
with a problematic sale, the suit
argued.
In May of 2009,
Jacob Collins, a “straw
purchaser,” arrived in Badger Guns
with 18-year-old
Julius Burton. Surveillance
footage from inside the store shows
Burton gesturing to his gun of
choice: a Taurus PT140 Pro .40
caliber handgun.
“That’s the one I want,” he told
Collins, an exchange the defendants
said had not been seen by the store
clerk who handled Collins’s
purchase.
The following month, Norberg and
Kunisch were on duty inside a squad
car when they saw Burton riding his
bicycle on the sidewalk. The
officers directed Burton to move, as
riding on the sidewalk goes against
a Milwaukee ordinance. The
18-year-old ignored them and
continued cycling.
The officers exited their car and
started pursuing Burton, attempting
to talk to him.
Then Burton pulled out a gun and
started shooting. Both officers were
hit, with Kunisch sustaining several
severe injuries and Norberg wounded
in the face.
Though Burton is serving 80 years
for attempted murder, and Collins
served two years for the illegal
purchase, another wrongdoing haunted
the officers and their families: At
age 18, Burton couldn’t legally
purchase a handgun by himself.
Someone had to help him.
With their troubling businesses
practices, the jury concluded,
Badger Guns provided Burton with the
opportunity to obtain a gun through
Collins.
http://www.sfgate.com/nation/article/Jury-orders-gun-shop-to-pay-nearly-6-million-to-6571097.php