SCOTTSDALE, AZ (CBS5) -
It's the story and video that's hard to forget - a man holding his 3-year-old daughter above him, threatening to "pile-drive" her into the ground back in 2008. The man's family sued Scottsdale police after they shot and paralyzed him, and now a judge has ruled they weren't justified in shooting him.
The family of David Hulstedt, a man with a history of mental illness, said police didn't have to shoot him and now a judge agrees, saying police put in danger the one person they were trying to protect - that little girl.
In amateur video taken by a bystander, you can see a man - Hulstedt - holding his 3-year-old daughter above his head. He was threatening to throw her to the ground back in November 2008, and officers shot him several times, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. A U.S. district judge now says those officers shouldn't have shot him.
Here's why - they never warned Hulstedt that if he didn't put his daughter down, they would shoot. Hulstedt wasn't armed, was walking into his house and never made any movements to "pile-drive" his daughter into the ground.
Ultimately, the judge says officers hurt the very girl they were trying to protect because when Hulstedt was shot, he dropped her six feet above the concrete, fracturing her skull.
Hulstedt's family accuses police of then dragging him 400 feet through gravel and asphalt to get him to an ambulance, severely damaging his knees. But the judge says that's up to a jury to decide.
Finally, after the incident, police swept through the house - which a judge says wasn't the right thing to do without a warrant since it wasn't reasonable to think anyone else was inside.
The judge ruled in favor of Scottsdale police for a few claims. [Read the full court report (PDF)]. They were justified in using handcuffs and that officers didn't lie on purpose just to get a search warrant. But several claims will still be up to a jury to decide.
We reached out to Scottsdale police, but they say they can't comment because the case is still tied up in the courts.
Copyright 2012 CBS 5 (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
Man holding baby above him in 2008
