Drizzt
February 27, 2003, 03:23 PM
Lawyer wants to settle -- for rifles
An assistant state attorney smacked by new courthouse doors requests an unusual settlement of the county: two hunting rifles with power scopes.
By CARRIE JOHNSON, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 27, 2003
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INVERNESS -- His hand was crunched by a security device meant to keep weapons out of a courthouse. Now a local attorney has asked for two high-powered rifles as retribution.
After being injured in January by the automatic doors at the entrance of the new courthouse addition, Assistant State Attorney Jeffery Smith wrote a letter to Citrus County government requesting the firearms in exchange for clearing the county of liability.
"I propose the following," Smith wrote in the Feb. 21 letter. "I don't know if it can be done directly, or if the county will have to cough up the cash so I can do it. I want two rifles with scopes and reloading dies."
Smith asked for two Ruger hunting rifles equipped with power scopes. He estimated the retail value at about $2,000.
Smith said the offer was not subject to negotiation.
"If the answer is yes, all that is left is the 'how,' " Smith wrote. "If the answer is no, the county will be joined in my suit. I am sure that the expense to the county will far exceed my request."
Smith sent copies of the letter to members of the County Commission, the county administrator and to the county attorney's office, where it immediately raised a few eyebrows.
"If he had asked for a lawn mower, that would be one thing," said County Attorney Robert Battista. "When you ask for a gun, there's an immediate response, visceral as much as anything."
Battista said it will be up to the county's insurance adjuster to make the final decision. But as a rule, the county gives cash, not goods, to settle legal matters.
"We don't want to be purchasing guns for the general population," he said.
Smith said he was trying to give the county a break. Insurance companies frequently have warehouses filled with recovered items, which would save them the cost of paying top retail price.
"If I had known the furor this was going to create, I would have just asked for the cash," Smith said Wednesday.
Smith was one of several people clobbered by the security door shortly after the courthouse addition opened Jan. 6. The doors are designed to shut in case of a security breach, one of several safety features included in the 40,000-square-foot addition.
Smith passed through the doors on the way to work in the courthouse the morning of Jan. 9 and felt a sharp squeeze on his left wrist. When he looked down, his hand was trapped in the sliding panes of plastic.
He went to Citrus Memorial Hospital, where his wrist was examined for fractures. He has been wearing a splint on his left hand since the incident, but no bones were broken.
The following Monday, the glitch was repaired and no other accidents have been reported.
The guns requested by Smith are typically used for hunting big game, such as elk or moose, according to a Ruger Web site.
Smith is an avid hunter and is active in the National Rifle Association, Ducks Unlimited and the National Wild Turkey Federation.
He has traveled to Africa four times on safari and makes hunting trips to the northern United States and Canada on pheasant hunting excursions.
Smith said he planned to donate one of the rifles to the Safari Club International and give the other to a friend.
Smith said he proposed the deal because he was frustrated by the treatment he received from county officials. County Administrator Richard Wesch canceled a scheduled appointment, and the claims adjuster said the county wasn't liable for his injury.
"I felt like I was really getting the runaround," Smith said. "That's why I wrote the letter."
Smith did not use stationery from the State Attorney's Office to write his letter, nor did he refer to his position as an assistant state attorney.
State Attorney Brad King, who was informed of the letter by the county, said he has no authority in the matter because Smith was acting as a private citizen.
But after a discussion with Smith, King said he wished his colleague had simply asked for the money.
"If he had just written a letter and said, 'I want $2,000 as a settlement,' I don't think anybody would have said a word," King said.
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/02/27/Citrus/Lawyer_wants_to_settl.shtml
An assistant state attorney smacked by new courthouse doors requests an unusual settlement of the county: two hunting rifles with power scopes.
By CARRIE JOHNSON, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 27, 2003
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INVERNESS -- His hand was crunched by a security device meant to keep weapons out of a courthouse. Now a local attorney has asked for two high-powered rifles as retribution.
After being injured in January by the automatic doors at the entrance of the new courthouse addition, Assistant State Attorney Jeffery Smith wrote a letter to Citrus County government requesting the firearms in exchange for clearing the county of liability.
"I propose the following," Smith wrote in the Feb. 21 letter. "I don't know if it can be done directly, or if the county will have to cough up the cash so I can do it. I want two rifles with scopes and reloading dies."
Smith asked for two Ruger hunting rifles equipped with power scopes. He estimated the retail value at about $2,000.
Smith said the offer was not subject to negotiation.
"If the answer is yes, all that is left is the 'how,' " Smith wrote. "If the answer is no, the county will be joined in my suit. I am sure that the expense to the county will far exceed my request."
Smith sent copies of the letter to members of the County Commission, the county administrator and to the county attorney's office, where it immediately raised a few eyebrows.
"If he had asked for a lawn mower, that would be one thing," said County Attorney Robert Battista. "When you ask for a gun, there's an immediate response, visceral as much as anything."
Battista said it will be up to the county's insurance adjuster to make the final decision. But as a rule, the county gives cash, not goods, to settle legal matters.
"We don't want to be purchasing guns for the general population," he said.
Smith said he was trying to give the county a break. Insurance companies frequently have warehouses filled with recovered items, which would save them the cost of paying top retail price.
"If I had known the furor this was going to create, I would have just asked for the cash," Smith said Wednesday.
Smith was one of several people clobbered by the security door shortly after the courthouse addition opened Jan. 6. The doors are designed to shut in case of a security breach, one of several safety features included in the 40,000-square-foot addition.
Smith passed through the doors on the way to work in the courthouse the morning of Jan. 9 and felt a sharp squeeze on his left wrist. When he looked down, his hand was trapped in the sliding panes of plastic.
He went to Citrus Memorial Hospital, where his wrist was examined for fractures. He has been wearing a splint on his left hand since the incident, but no bones were broken.
The following Monday, the glitch was repaired and no other accidents have been reported.
The guns requested by Smith are typically used for hunting big game, such as elk or moose, according to a Ruger Web site.
Smith is an avid hunter and is active in the National Rifle Association, Ducks Unlimited and the National Wild Turkey Federation.
He has traveled to Africa four times on safari and makes hunting trips to the northern United States and Canada on pheasant hunting excursions.
Smith said he planned to donate one of the rifles to the Safari Club International and give the other to a friend.
Smith said he proposed the deal because he was frustrated by the treatment he received from county officials. County Administrator Richard Wesch canceled a scheduled appointment, and the claims adjuster said the county wasn't liable for his injury.
"I felt like I was really getting the runaround," Smith said. "That's why I wrote the letter."
Smith did not use stationery from the State Attorney's Office to write his letter, nor did he refer to his position as an assistant state attorney.
State Attorney Brad King, who was informed of the letter by the county, said he has no authority in the matter because Smith was acting as a private citizen.
But after a discussion with Smith, King said he wished his colleague had simply asked for the money.
"If he had just written a letter and said, 'I want $2,000 as a settlement,' I don't think anybody would have said a word," King said.
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/02/27/Citrus/Lawyer_wants_to_settl.shtml