Judge decides on Santa Maria appeal to reduce payout to two men rear-ended by police

A superior court judge has made a decision regarding the City of Santa Maria’s request to lower the amount of money ordered to pay two men that were injured in a car crash involving a police officer.

A Santa Maria police officer rear-ended two men in a pick-up truck on May 19, 2016, when the officer looked at his in-dash computer and traffic ahead came to a stop, according to the city.

The city says the officer slammed on the brakes but was unable to make a full stop before hitting the truck.

A jury awarded the two plaintiffs $420,000 in medical expenses to be paid by the city.

The city admitted liability for the crash but believes the amount to be too high and requested the amount to be lowered to about $67,000.

The judge agreed to reduce the amount of money owed, but not by much.

According to Judge James Rigali, one aspect of the plaintiff’s story was not supported by evidence, so he reduced the amount to $384,000.