Woman Wants Gold after Ark. Police Shooting
A Florida woman is suing the West Memphis Police Department after officers shot her husband and 16-year-old stepson during a shootout in a Walmart parking lot.
Besides the fact that the father and teen caused the shootout, this lawsuit is notable for one reason and one reason only:
She wants the department to pay her in gold.
The lawsuit, filed by Donna Lee Wray-Kane, stems from an incident last year during which Jerry Kane and his son Joseph were killed by Memphis police.
Prior to the shootout, Jerry Kane and his son were pulled over for a traffic violation, reports the Associated Press. Police cruiser video of the events shows the teen wielding an AK-47 and shooting at officers.
Even though Donna Lee Wray-Kane denies it, the Associated Press reports that her husband and stepson were "sovereign citizens"--people who believe they are above the law and that the U.S. went bankrupt when it moved away from the gold standard.
Amongst allegations that the deaths of Jerry Kane and Joseph were "torture killings" and violated a host of state, federal and international laws, Wray-Kane requested that she be paid $150,000 in "gold at $38 per troy ounce."
Plaintiffs can request that they be paid in a certain way--with stock, property, cash--but that doesn't mean the court will fulfill the request.
Payment requests usually have to be related to the case and reasonable, and requesting $150,000 in gold bars is unlikely to meet either of those criteria.
Either way, it's unlikely to matter. The judge has given Donna Lee Wray-Kane until May 2 to amend her complaint, or, as Commercial Appeal reports, the lawsuit will be dismissed.
Related Resources:
- Widow's Suit Seeks Damages in Gold for Deaths of Husband and Son in Cop Shootout (ABA Journal)
- Police Corruption and Misconduct (FindLaw)
- Woman Sues City of New York, Wins Damages Award of $1 (FindLaw's Legally Weird)