Town agrees to damages
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LAFAYETTE — The city of Scott has agreed to settle a lawsuit alleging an officer improperly used deadly force in shooting a man when responding to a family quarrel in 2004.
The settlement comes after a jury returned a verdict this week finding that Scott Police officer Byron Romero used excessive force against Ken Bacque.
The jury also found that Bacque was 50 percent at fault in his own death because of his behavior, but the verdict still left the city liable for monetary damages, which would have been determined in the second phase of the trial had no settlement been reached.
Romero shot Bacque twice when responding to an argument between Bacque and his father, Larry Bacque, at the family’s business in Scott, Horseman Western Store.
Police alleged that the son stabbed the father with a knife and was aggressive toward officers who responded to the scene and refused to drop the knife when ordered to do so.
Ken Bacque’s widow, Chiarra Bacque, argued in a federal lawsuit that her husband had threatened no one and could have been subdued without gunfire.
“The only person who said he needed to be shot was the guy who shot him,” said one of the widow’s attorneys, Jeffery Speer.
He said the trial was a case of “vindicating the man’s memory.”
Neither Speer nor the city’s attorney would disclose the amount of the settlement.
Scott Police Chief Chad Leger was out of the office Friday and could not be reached for comment. Scott Mayor Hazel Myers did not return a call for comment. “It was an unfortunate situation,” said attorney John Wilkes, who represented the Police Department. “The officer did exactly what he should have done, and we’re glad it’s behind us.”
After a trial that stretched for more than a week, the jury found that officer Romero used excessive force in the situation, but the jury also found that Romero had reason to believe that Ken Bacque was a threat and that the man’s behavior might have contributed to his own death.
The jury split fault for the death evenly between Romero and Ken Bacque.
