Although There was No Ongoing Emergency & No Hostage, Racist Suspect Cops Didn't See It That Way. From [HERE] and [MORE] A federal jury in Seattle has awarded nearly $15 million to the family of an unarmed black man shot and killed by police in front of his young son near Tacoma, Washington, finding police had no reason to use deadly force.

The award includes $3 million in punitive damages against SWAT commander Mike Zaro during the 2013 standoff; another $1.5 million in punitive damages against Lakewood Officer Michael Wiley, who led an assault on the home and shot the family dog; and $2 million in punitive damages against Lakewood Sgt. Brian Markert, the sniper who shot Leonard Thomas from 90 feet away, The Seattle Times reported Friday (https://goo.gl/fHFgKc).

Thomas was shot outside his home in Fife, Washington, when he grabbed for his son after police used explosives to enter the home.

Jurors had been deliberating since Monday afternoon before returning the verdict Friday. One juror was dismissed during the week when she refused to deliberate.

The award is one of the largest in a police use-of-force and wrongful-death lawsuit in the state's history.

Attorney Tiffany Cartwright, one of the lawyers representing Thomas' parents and his now 9-year-old son, told the jury that nothing that the drunken, despondent, bipolar man did warranted a massive police response the night of May 23, 2013, for a misdemeanor, domestic-violence offense. Two armored vehicles and at least 27 officers responded, including the Pierce Metro SWAT team.

Based on photographs introduced in trial, the majority, if not all, of the officers were white. Attorneys for Thomas' family said in court documents that the case was "steeped in race."

Cartwright also told the jury the situation was "that close" to resolving peacefully when Zaro ordered an assault team to breach the back of the home using plastic explosives to blow down a door. They also shot the family dog five times.