Sign in Subscribe
Police officers

Malicious Prosecution Lawsuit Against Columbia Police Officers Results in $100,000 Award

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Nicholas Daniels, a Jacksonville, Florida, man, has been awarded $100,000 in a malicious prosecution lawsuit against Columbia police officers. The verdict, reached on June 9 in Boone County Circuit Court, found officer Clint Sinclair responsible for Daniels' malicious prosecution claim related to his arrest in 2013. Sinclair must pay Daniels $100,000 for the actual damages he suffered after being arrested and charged with assault on a law enforcement officer.

Sinclair was found responsible after the Western District Court of Appeals reversed a lower-court judgment in favor of the three officers named in the lawsuit. Daniels originally filed the lawsuit in 2016 after he was arrested during a bar fight at the Fieldhouse in October 2013. According to court documents, Columbia officers were conducting a routine business check at the bar when an altercation occurred between Daniels and a Fieldhouse bouncer.

The altercation led to a fight, and Sinclair was hit in the face. Although Daniels did not deliver the punch, Sinclair thought he had and responded by using a Taser on Daniels as he walked away. Daniels was charged with trespassing, assault on a law enforcement officer, and resisting arrest, but the case was dismissed in 2014. Daniels initially filed the lawsuit against the city and several police officers in federal court, claiming federal civil rights and state law violations.

Key Takeaways:

  • A jury in Boone County Circuit Court awarded Nicholas Daniels $100,000 in a malicious prosecution lawsuit against Columbia police officers.
  • Officer Clint Sinclair was found responsible for Daniels' malicious prosecution claim related to his arrest in 2013.
  • Sinclair must pay Daniels $100,000 for the actual damages he suffered after being arrested and charged with assault on a law enforcement officer.
  • Officer Ryan Terranova was found not responsible in Daniels' malicious prosecution claim and is no longer with the Columbia Police Department.
  • The Western District Court of Appeals reversed a lower-court judgment in favor of the three officers named in the lawsuit.
  • Daniels originally filed the lawsuit in 2016 after he was arrested during a bar fight at the Fieldhouse in October 2013.
  • Daniels initially filed the lawsuit against the city and several police officers in federal court, claiming federal civil rights and state law violations.

Statistics:

  • $100,000: The amount awarded to Nicholas Daniels in the malicious prosecution lawsuit against Columbia police officers.
  • 2013: The year Daniel was arrested during a bar fight at the Fieldhouse in October.
  • 2014: The year the case against Daniel was dismissed.
  • 2016: The year Daniels initially filed the lawsuit against the city and several police officers in federal court.
  • 2019: The year a summary judgment was issued by 13th Circuit Judge Kevin Crane in favor of the three officers named in the lawsuit.
  • 2020: The year the Western District Court of Appeals reversed the lower-court judgment in favor of the three officers named in the lawsuit.

Sources:

  • [columbiamissourian.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange, 2023]

Read more