A federal judge awarded nearly $2 million in damages after FBI agents found it negligent when they shot and killed a Texas man who was lured during a failed rescue operation.
The mother and son of Ulises Valladares, 47, were awarded money as part of a civil lawsuit filed in Houston Federal Court, alleging that FBI agent Gavin Lappe was detained and blindfolded when FBI agent Gavin Lappe shot him in January 2018 for entering a house where he was taken prisoner.
Rapp told investigators only when he suspected that the temptier had grabbed his rifle after the agent broke the window to enter the house and after he didn't know that he was shooting Valladales.
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Ernesto Valladares, brother of Ulises Valladares, will be interviewed across the street from his brother's house on Friday, January 26th, 2018. (AP)
However, District Judge Kenneth Whitt of Houston found that Rapp “in his response during the rescue attempt, “even negligent and even grossly negligent,” and the agent determined that the sole cause of Valladales' death.
Whitt said that Lap fired the weapon in the silhouette of the window without checking who was shooting, and not pose a direct threat to him or another agent nearby.
US District Judge Kenneth Whitt discovered during his rescue attempt that the agent was “negligent and even grossly negligent in his response.” (istock)
Lappe was protected from lawsuits through an immunity that is qualified to protect law enforcement from liability for fraud. However, the lawsuit was allowed to move forward against the federal government, which is not protected from liability.
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FBI agent Gavin Lappe is protected from lawsuits through qualified immunity, and law enforcement is protected from liability for fraud. (istock)
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Former Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo previously said that the rape description for filming Valadales was not backed up by evidence reviewed by police investigators.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
