Christie Green

• Location

  1135-1145 Dove St, Richmond, VA 23222, USA

  Date

  Dec 15 1998
  
  
• Category Death or injury of an innocent   
• Description

  Credibility:     1
  
  In December 1998, police in Richmond, Virginia conduct a paramilitary drug raid on an apartment suspected of drug activity. During the raid, Sgt. George Ingram fires a "breaching round" shotgun shell -- intended to blow the locks off of doors -- into the door leading to the apartment's kitchen. Ingram fires five rounds, one of which goes through the door and strikes 18-year-old Christie Green in the chest. Green later dies from her injuries.
  
  Green didn't live at the apartment, and police concede they had no reason to believe she was involved in any drug activity, nor that she knew any was going on in the apartment. Green's family sued both the city of Richmond and the manufacturer of the round, which is designed to dissolve on impact. In 2002, a circuit court jury found that the manufacturer of the round wasn't liable for Green's death. Then, in 2004, a judge in Richmond found that the officer who fired the round wasn't liable, either. Meaning that an innocent woman was killed in a botched raid, and no one was assigned responsibility.
  
  In March 2005, the Virginia State Supreme Court reinstated the case against the city and the officer, ruling that a jury, not a judge, should make the determination of liability. In January 2006, a jury found Officer Ingram grossly negligent in the raid, and awarded the Green family $1.5 million in damages.
  
  Sources:
  
  Alan Cooper, "Police Officer Cleared of Blame in Woman's Death; After Jury Deadlocks, Judge Rules Plaintiff Did Not Prove Case," Richmond Times Dispatch, January 23, 2004.
  
  Tom Campbell, "Damages awarded in SWAT raid death," Richmond Times Dispatch, January 14, 2006.