Jury awards $2.2M to family in Marion deputy shooting wrongful death suit

MARION COUNTY, Fla. — A jury has awarded a family $2.2 million in a wrongful death lawsuit against two Marion County deputies Friday.

Video from a camera in a deputy's patrol car shows 21-year-old Joshua Salvato struggling with deputies during a traffic stop in 2012.

The video, first obtained nearly two years ago by Eyewitness News, Marion County Deputy Lauren Miley shooting Salvato before another deputy shocked him with a stun gun 12 times.
 
Salvato, who was unarmed, died from the gunshot wound.

The camera recorded video of Deputy Norman Brown's patrol car arrived to assist Miley, who had just detained Salvato after witnesses said he was stepping into traffic and yelling at cars.
 
In the video Salvato appeared to surrender to deputies before he suddenly began fighting and punching them.
 
The video shows Miley draw her weapon and fire once at Salvato.
 
Brown can then be seen using a stun gun on Salvato, not realizing he'd already been shot.

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Both deputies kept their jobs.
 
Salvato's family filed the wrongful death suit against the Sheriff's Office alleging extreme and brutal force. The family said the video was proof the deputies used excessive force that caused his death.

The family was asking for $39 million, but after deliberating for over six hours, the jury instead awarded $1.375 million to Salavto's father and $880,000 to his mother.

The jury found Miley acted excessively and unreasonably when she shot and killed Salvato, who was unarmed.

The jury also found Brown used excessive force when he shot Salvato with a Taser 12 times after he had already been shot.

Salvato's father, Vincent Salvato, fought back tears when Channel 9 talked to him after the verdict.

"I'm elated the verdicts have come the way they come and Joshua has finally gotten justice and my family," he said. "The emotions are overwhelming. I don't know what to say except that how proud I am of my lawyers and the jury to make a correct verdict like they have."

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