Small county forced to pay massive settlement after sheriff searched school’s entire student body

850 students will divide $3 million among themselves as part of a settlement in a federal civil rights lawsuit after sheriff’s office locked down school and subjected them to an invasive, four-hour search.

$3 million is more than twice the $1.4 million annual budget of the sheriff’s office, and a sizable chunk of the county’s $10 million budget.  The lesson: out-of-control police departments are a huge liability.

Author: S. Smith