DeKalb County Jury Signs Verdict for $1,472,750

Sycamore, Illinois, December 15, 2022—Late morning, December 14, 2022, after a seven day jury trial, a unanimous verdict for $1,472,750 was handed down against the Village of Kirkland and its part-time police officer, Andrew Holmes. The lawsuit was filed after a 64-year old part-time Genoa police officer was injured (rotator cuff tear) on December 5, 2015 during a taser training course hosted by the Village of Kirkland and Andrew Holmes. The Kirkland taser instructor, Andrew Holmes tased the spotter, resulting in the student officer being dropped onto a concrete floor with only thin carpet and no padding. The jury found that instructor did not use reasonable care and deviated from numerous mandatory guidelines Taser sets forth for its instructors when tasing students.

The Plaintiff is “forever grateful to the jurors for recognizing the unsafe manner in which this course was taught and will help ensure this does not happen again.” Hopefully this jury verdict speaks the truth to all in our community that weapons training is a privilege with strict responsibilities that one must adhere. There are rules in place that must be followed in order to prevent the known, predictable and preventable dangers any weapon creates when the rules for safe use are not followed, said lead trial attorney for the Plaintiff, C. Nicholas Cronauer, of Cronauer Law, LLP.