A federal judge awarded nearly $2 million in damages after determining that an FBI agent was negligent when he shot and killed a kidnapped Texas man during a botched rescue effort.
The mother and son of Ulises Valladares, 47, were awarded the money as part of a civil lawsuit filed in Houston federal court alleging the man was helpless while he was bound and blindfolded when FBI agent Gavin Lappe shot him in January 2018 as agents entered a home where he was being held captive.
Lappe told investigators he only fired his gun when he suspected that a kidnapper had grabbed his rifle after the agent broke a window to enter the home and did not know he was shooting Valladares.
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But U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt in Houston found that Lappe “was negligent, even grossly negligent, in his response” during the rescue attempt, and ruled that the agent was the sole cause of Valladares’ death.
Hoyt said Lappe shot at a silhouette in the window without confirming who he was shooting at and that he fired his weapon despite no direct threat to him or another agent nearby.
Lappe was protected against the lawsuit through qualified immunity, which shields law enforcement from liability for wrongdoing. But the case was allowed to move forward against the federal government, which is not protected from liability.
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Former Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo previously said Lappe’s explanation for shooting Valladares is not backed up by evidence reviewed by police investigators.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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