BALTIMORE (AP) - A Baltimore jury is awarding $500,000 to a teenager who was left miles from home without his shoes after he entered a police van as part of a drug investigation.
The damages were awarded Friday to Michael Johnson Jr. and his parents after a 5-day civil trial.
Johnson was 15 when he entered the police van in May 2009 in Baltimore. He was dropped off hours later near Patapsco Valley State Park in neighboring Howard County without his shoes, cellphone or any way of getting home.
Johnson claims he was forced into the van, but police maintain he entered voluntarily.
The three officers involved were previously cleared of kidnapping charges. But detectives Tyrone Francis and Milton Smith were convicted of misdemeanor misconduct in 2011.
