Includes video report
SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — The Seminole County Sheriff's Office will pay a $3.2 million settlement to a Florida Lottery winner who was shot in his own back yard.
Deputies said they thought Robert Swofford Jr. was a burglar when they opened fire on him in April 2006.
Swofford, who won $60 million in the Florida Lotto, was shot four times.
He filed a lawsuit in 2007, claiming the sheriff's office failed to properly train its deputies.
Lawyers decided to settle the lawsuit last week.
Wow! Ok here are my thoughts.
1. The Lottery Curse Strikes again
2. Why in the world does Florida Lotto INSIST in making winners public???
3. Recently in "The Lottery Changed My Life" a Florida doctor who won 56 million had someone tamper with her brakes and she had to relocate to a new safer neighborhood
4. Let's not forget that poor Abraham Shakespeare who won 30 million was hounded by deadbeats who eventually killed him
Folks, we all play Lotto in hopes of living our dreams, but winning the lotto is a CURSE. Why???? Because people are EVIL.
Change the law NOW!!!!!! A N O N Y M I T Y for all who win Lotto.
I think the police simply made a mistake here, if this guy had not won lotto, no one would be interested in burglarizing his home.
FLORIDA LOTTO: CHANGE YOUR POLICY!!!! ANONYMITY FOR YOUR WINNERS PLEASE!!!!! HOW MANY PEOPLE MUST DIE?????
OMG! You are absolutely correct.
The police told him to drop his weapon, Did he know they were police? Did he call them ? Were the police supposed to assume he was the homeowner?
If your a cop and you tell a suspect to drop their weapon and they don't, I say blast away, Sounds like it was bad decision making on both sides.
If there is someone in my yard, I am not going to confront them, if you break into my house, your going to be full of buck shot.
I hear ya Sully, BUT had this guy not won Lotto, no one would be interested in burglarizing his property. Why can't people win and be happy????
I agree, they should let winners remain anonymous, To many people scream "cheater cheater" if they don't know who won, Wth his money he could have a state of the art security system, going out to confront someone in the middle of the night is plain stupid.
IMO, Mr. Swofford deserves every penny of that settlement. He was shot seven times while defending his property. The two police officers were not able to prove their case and, in fact, were sanctioned by the court for destroying evidence. Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2011/0124/Supreme-Court-declines-appeal-in-lottery-winner-s-excessive-force-suit
I agree that everone should be able to remain anonymous!
Too many Greed of Envy poeple around ............. they have the right to everything!
A former co-worker of mine told me he "has the right" to come to my house and take what he wants, if he is "down and out" !!!!!!!!!!!!!! I told him that is why I have a gun loaded with hollow points !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
On another note ........... I have won $3 on two consecutive Powerball Drawings ................. can the big win be next ?!
Love your comments they on point when I win I will have a Judge friend of mine help me collect anonymous and if anybody finds out it's me I will just tell them a friend I know won and just gave me a little money to buy me a new home ect. or just move away where nobody knows me. Good luck on hitting it big
the police were probably trying to seize the property by killing him and planting drugs. this way they would get everything and be able to live on the take style
i hope they can read.
It should be a felony for police to destroy evidence - these cops should go to jail for a very long time.
Why is that they can shoot people, destroy the evidence and not get in trouble for it, just lose their case. That's ridiculous, I think police who are caught destroying evidence should be JAILED for YEARS.
In addition to all the reasons given so far, those deputies should be personally sued for being such awful shots!
They are too dangerous to be allowed to have guns if they can't hit the target! In a more public shootout, innocent civilians would be killed by them, instead of a criminal.
If this guy called the cops about a burglar in his yard and then was stupid enough to be standing in the yard with a gun in his hand when the cops arrived...
And then wouldn't drop the gun when instructed to...
Well, I gotta wonder how he got a settlement on this case. Sounds like the County was just scared of public opinion ruling in court.
And maybe it is time for the government to put people's safety before their advertising campaigns.
Maybe I missed something major, but it sounds to me like he didn't call them, the police witnessed the robber flee through his backyard and pursued without any warning to the owner of the home. There was a recording on one of the police officers radios, which was still on. In it, they found no evidence that they called out the fact that they were officers until after shooting.
But I could have missed something.... If I did he probably got the settlement on the grounds that the officers were caught destroying evidence, so they didn't want it put into court.
No, it was probably me that missed something major cuz I didn't see the video.
I only know what I read in the article. I can understand it then if there was all that other stuff. Thanks.
TN doesn't allow backwoodsmen and hillfolk to get hi-speed internet so we can watch videos. They think we're too excitable and will see videos of people playin' banjos and start clog dancin' all over the place and embarrass the flatlander city folk in front of the yankee tourists. I'm thinkin' about starting a Political Action Committee called Hi-Speed for White Trash to demand hi-speed internet back up in here. And I'll be needin' some seed money to get it going.
Not being a lottery winner does not stop folks from breaking in your house...even with you in it!
Roger that.
Ridge, the video, gives no answers to the questions, I asked, someone posted a link to an article, I'll check that out maybe there's more info, how reliable it is remains to be seen.
I read the article, sounds like both parties are lying , the cops should be fired and charges brought for destroying evidence, The victim, clearly needs to take responsibility for his own stupidity, he went out into the dead of night with a loaded weapon, hid in the bushes and laid in wait, you only do that if you have intentions to harm, clearly, I believe people have the right to defend their home and property, but he went about it the wrong way.
Growing up in Detroit , I have witnessed many foot chases, cops don't stop to ask permission when they are chasing suspects, we always had enough sense to stay out of the way.
Do I think cops have a right to just enter you property and look around, HE!! NO.
IT IS ALWAYS A DOUBLE EDGE SWORD WHEN COPS ARE CHASING BAD GUYS, WHETHER IT BE ON FOOT OR IN A CAR.
Sidenote, if you think someone is in your yard, don't confront them, you may be surprised to find there is more than one, when the one you didn't see sneaks up behind you. Call police, if you don't have a weapon, boil water, if they get in your house surprise them with hot water in their face.
Better be careful. Your former co-worker may think he is entitled to that $6.
Good info and advice sully, thanks.
Make it a Super PAC.
They can recieve unlimited contributions and give out unlimited money without telling anybody who they got it from, who they gave it to or how much they have.
- I realize the Supreme Court Decision was definetely the proper one, according to Constiutional Law and history, but I think that maybe the Constitution should be amended to limit how much money an individual or group can contribute to a candidate for Federal Elections. The whole Super PAC thing just seems like a Pandora's box, and it seems like it could be harmful to Capitalism.
Hear, hear
Police officers shooting innocent people is nothing new. The only thing thats new is
that everybody got cameras on their cell phones and also cameras are everywhere.
I'm glad the guy who was shot sued and will get compensated heavily. Police brutality is real
Thank you!
Players should be given the CHOICE whether or not to have their picture taken and name released.
Give people a CHOICE. In today's age with internet and other technologies, it's too easy to track down a winner and do them harm.
Well, getting shot five times by one police officer and two times by the other (good aim) is dreadful on one's own property. I believe that the police officers knew who owned the property, and what the homeowners looked like. Certainly, any good training should have told the two police officers that their uniforms probably weren't identifiable in the dark, and so should have identified themselves upon hearing "halt" from possibly a homeowner!!!
I think that $3.2 million dollars, nontaxable, paid by the few paying Income Tax payers was WAY, WAY TOO HIGH an award/win paid to the homeowner shot pincushion-style! I presume that several of the neighbors, upon hearing this award, must now loath this already very wealthy family AND their city police department employees for ego centrism and stealing BIG TIME from them during their great, great, depression -- biggest and longest in U.S.A. history!
Finally, I'm amazed how many good workers are laid off, yet some others retain their jobs after injuring their employer and coworkers monetarily and reputation wise!
If the cops learn anything from this it should be that a 9mm doesn't get the job done very efficiently.
I'm guessing that's what they had after all those hits and the guy's still walkin' around.
Give me a 45 anyday, Kimber, if you don't mind.
If they would have shot the old man in the head there would have been no settlement..Case closed...
real shame,whats happened to one of our greatest cities.
last time i drove gratiot i could't belive my eyes.
I did some reading up on this guy on LP. Looks like he's been plagued with all types of problems. 3 ex-wives (2 of them sisters) several children in and out of wedlock etec etc etc. Looks like this 3.5 million will be spent quickly.
Sad to say, but there are L.P. members who win fairly regularly and some people will call them out and say; "Prove it, print out your ticket so we can see it," because they didn't put their numbers on the prediction page, or they don't believe someone can win more than they do. If that happens over someone winning the pick 3, it really makes me think twice about even playing the jackpot games. Sure XXX million dollars is nice, but with the publicity, and every one trying to get a piece of it by any means necessary... is it worth it? Yes you can do a lot with it, but at what personal cost? As they say, you don't miss what you don't have.
Many good people tried to fix it, no luck
I would keep a big win secret, good luck to you.
wow,I new he wasn't right.
Sounds pretty normal to me.
Having sex in the outhouse is normal to you....by yourself tiggs might add....
I endorse the verification of legitimate winners to the Public.
DOnt have to have a picture, DO have to go thru screening though. Fair compromise. Keep the name private/Keep the legitimacy public though....It can be done.
Next time I use Jello instead of Tapioca Pudding.
And put it in a ziplock bag first.
Thats what I do.
Thanks, Sully. Good luck to you too.
People like that have all the luck in the world. I bet he could win 5 more Mega Millions and 4 additional Powerball jackpots in the next 10 years if he played regularly.
YESSS!!!!..tiggs is going to start being a jerk and see if that helps tiggs to win big...No more Mr nice guy here!!!..
START being a jerk?
God help us.