Milwaukee Police Officers Receive $6M In Gun Store Case

A jury awarded two Milwaukee police officers with $6 million on Tuesday after they were shot and wounded by a gun that was purchased illegally from a suburban gun store.

The Milwaukee jury decided the store was negligent in allowing a 21-year-old man to buy a semi-automatic pistol on behalf of an 18-year-old, who couldn’t purchase a gun legally. The younger man later shot and severely wounded two Milwaukee police officers.

The officers’ attorney, Patrick Dunphy, said it might take years for his clients to see the $6 million that the jury awarded them.

“Come on, this is the gun industry,” Dunphy said. “Of course, there’s going to be an appeal.”

Indeed, one of the lawyers for the gun store issued a statement saying an appeal is coming. The attorney said the judge in the civil trial decided significant legal issues in a way that affected the evidence the jury was allowed to consider and legal standards the panel was told to apply.