“A Milwaukee County jury reached a verdict in the Badger Guns civil trial on Tuesday afternoon, October 13th,” fox6now.com reports. It ruled Badger Guns was negligent in selling the gun that was used to seriously injure two Milwaukee police officers.” How’s that you ask? “The lawsuit alleges the store was negligent and should’ve spotted clear warning signs that the gun was being sold to a ‘straw buyer,” or someone who was buying the gun for someone who couldn’t legally do so.” And the bottom line [via nbcnews.com] is . . .
Jurors in Milwaukee County have ordered Badger Guns to pay almost $6 million to Officer Bryan Norberg and now-retired Officer Graham Kunisch, who were both shot in the face while in the line of duty in 2009.
Badger Guns was also previously called Badger Outdoors, and at times was the No. 1 seller of firearms used in crimes in the U.S. — moving 537 guns that were recovered from crime scenes in 2005 alone, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Norberg and Kunisch weren’t the only members of the police force injured by a gun bought at Badger: Between 2007 and 2009, six Milwaukee cops were hurt by guns sold by Badger Guns or Badger Outdoors, according to the suit.
Kunisch himself was shot several times by a gun-toting bicyclist in a 2009 attack, losing an eye and suffering a brain injury. He had to retire from the police department, he said.
Jurors on Tuesday ordered Badger to pay him $3.6 million, Norberg $1.5 million, plus another $730,000 in punitive damages.