Family of slain suspected PS3 thief to receive $2.45 million settlement
by Griffin McElroy 
{ Mar 2nd 2008 at 11:00AM }
It's been more than a year since the accidental shooting of 18-year-old Peyton Strickland by Cpl. Christopher Long, a deputy of New Hanover County, N.C., during a raid of Strickland's rented home in early December, 2006. The sheriff's Emergency Response Team was serving a warrant for Strickland's arrest in connection with his suspected involvement in two PS3's being stolen from a University of North Carolina Wilmington student. Long mistook the sounds of his own team using a battering ram for gunshots, and opened fire on the unarmed teenager.Long was not charged with a crime, but the Strickland family recently received a small amount of closure on the matter -- a $2.45 million settlement from New Hanover County, and a public apology from Sheriff Sid Causey, who admitted that Long "made a mistake as to the existence of a deadly threat".
The Strickland family will put the $2.45 million into a charitable foundation to provide need-based scholarships and other grants. "The Stricklands were not interested in money," said Strickland family representative Joyce Fitzpatrick. "That cannot bring their son back."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Chris @ Mar 2nd 2008 11:06AM
some guy "heres 2.5 mill"
parent "thank you!!! finally I can get that mansion"
officer "im terrible sorry about your son"
parent "about waa?"
Donald @ Mar 2nd 2008 11:27AM
RTFA. They're not keeping the money, it's going to a scholarship fund.
Joshua @ Mar 2nd 2008 11:32AM
His point was that offering money for the loss of a family member is absolutely ridiculous.
capt.strugglebunny @ Mar 2nd 2008 11:45AM
@ Joshua
Sometimes the only way to get people to correct their mistakes (like killing people) is to take away a large chunk of their money.
Chris @ Mar 2nd 2008 12:19PM
Here in the UK death always involves money and thus a wife poisened and murdered her husband just for some extra cash. Im glad somebody got my point, taking away money doesnt solve problems, in fact it could create more.
If the police are fined 2 mill they cant keep up recruitment,equipment maintenance. At the end of the day its the tax payers money which should be used for thta service, not for individual families.
dan stabbingworth @ Mar 2nd 2008 7:42PM
Does the money come from taxpayers or the police's insurance company?
Liberal @ Mar 2nd 2008 11:08AM
The US really know the meaning of Human Rights.
MosquitoControl @ Mar 2nd 2008 11:13AM
This thread and your post seem to have no real connection.
At all.
Stop being a moron.
playwhutyalike @ Mar 2nd 2008 11:18AM
Yeah, and some people in the US give to others when they don't have to. Need more people like the Stricklands here. Oh, and less moron police officers.
capt.strugglebunny @ Mar 2nd 2008 11:19AM
What, more people that raise thieves?
/Snark
Sheepy @ Mar 2nd 2008 11:22AM
Oh look, an officer made a mistake. That means I get to jump in and whine so sagely about the United States.
Yeah, the officer's an idiot, yeah he's probably a trigger happy, senseless idiot, and I'm a liberal too, but I get tired of this constant hit and run partisanship wherever I damn well go.
God's sake this is a gaming website.
playwhutyalike @ Mar 2nd 2008 11:26AM
@ capt. snugglebunnie
Zing!
Liberal Thinker @ Mar 2nd 2008 11:28AM
Mosquito,
My post relates to the thread. Maybe you should read the story and understand its background. And maybe some recent American history.
I.E. = Guantanamo, Chile in the 80s, Modern Day Isreal, etc.
There is a culture of violence in the United States, and inevitably it seeps into various domestic institutions such as the police. It's a shame.
capt.strugglebunny @ Mar 2nd 2008 11:33AM
This dude has been trolling all the Joystiq/Fanboy boards. Why hasn't he been banned yet?
Batzarro @ Mar 2nd 2008 12:03PM
You know what happens when you always go left or always go right, right? You end up going in circles!
Hey Liberal, this is about a policeman who ALLEGEDLY though he was being fired upon, and shot. It. happens.Everywhere. I also get surprised when people talk about Guantanamo and the stuff that goes on there, and tottally omit the Cuban political prisons that have been going on for years. I'm just saying, If you point one thing, point em' all!
Korova @ Mar 2nd 2008 12:09PM
The difference between the US and Chile or Israel is that in the US the government apologizes once in a while and pays the victim compensation.
I vaguely remember Israel doing something like that once, but Chile, Argentina just slap the victim's family on tha ass and tell them to walk it off.
Paying for your mistakes = respect for human rights.
License to ill @ Mar 2nd 2008 12:12PM
Liberal Thinker I got news for ya, the world is a culture of violence...
FidliousWong (Oatmeal Defense Force) @ Mar 2nd 2008 1:29PM
But, but... everyone knows it's only America that is violent and there are currently no genecides going on at this moment on the planet*.
*Note: For the sake of this arguement, Sudan will now be considered a part of the moon.
maverick_saturn_626 @ Mar 2nd 2008 3:04PM
I have to agree, when I came to the US, I was beaten with a stick :)
THE RYTHEM STICK, now I can boogie down like theres no tomorrow, thanks US ^^
Cheezeman3000 @ Mar 3rd 2008 3:25AM
Maverick that post is FULL of win! I'm still laughing as I type this.
mr nimblewick @ Mar 2nd 2008 11:12AM
But did they at least find the PS3s in there?
capt.strugglebunny @ Mar 2nd 2008 11:19AM
That's what I'm wondering too. I mean, no one should be shot over a couple PS3s, but (if true) I don't think we lost a contestant in the "world's greatest human being" awards.
Nikonov @ Mar 2nd 2008 12:50PM
If I remember right, he was playing it when he was shot.
This "officer" needs a demotion down to meter-maid and a damn good hearing aid.
Mills and Boom @ Mar 2nd 2008 1:25PM
No, a police chap didn't go to him and open fire because he thought he stole some consoles.
He opened fire because he thought he was being shot at.
Personally I think that's what a police chap should do, if they had better hearing maybe. Its just a nasty accident is all.
maverick_saturn_626 @ Mar 2nd 2008 3:02PM
Someone dies, and all you care about is the stolen PS3s?
Shows where ur priorities lie... ¬_¬
MosquitoControl @ Mar 2nd 2008 11:23AM
If you remember, the cops were all kinds of jumpy going to this kids house because his myspace had pictures of him in his bedroom holding a pair of M4s.
Still 100% the fault of the cop; he said he relied upon his training when he opened fire but his training should have made him less jumpy, or at least able to distinguish between battering rams and gunfire, but no, this wasn't the most stellar human being.
dan stabbingworth @ Mar 2nd 2008 11:38AM
Given that kind of info, seems kind of pointless to raid the kid's house just to serve a search warrant. Too bad we have so many uneducated hillbilly police officers that just want to fire their gun.
Korova @ Mar 2nd 2008 12:11PM
Maybe the cops played too many video games as kids and that desensitized them to killing.
Zing!
Kanadwen @ Mar 2nd 2008 11:30AM
You know, charity is good and all, but I'm sure he would of liked any of his brothers or sisters, to go to college.
Aero @ Mar 2nd 2008 11:34AM
If you actually read the article it says he was suspected of stealing the PS3s, not that he actually stole them. Innocent until proven guilty.
Nikonov @ Mar 2nd 2008 12:51PM
He was playing it when they came in.
marke @ Mar 2nd 2008 11:57AM
yeah, fuck the police
CONFUSEDgam3r @ Mar 2nd 2008 12:42PM
Hey Marke,
I want to know something. Did you get shot today? Was your car stolen from you? Were you mugged on your way to work/school?
Your welcome.
Nikonov @ Mar 2nd 2008 12:52PM
Good luck in a world without them.
Anticrawl @ Mar 2nd 2008 3:04PM
Hrm, honestly the only help from the police me or my family has ever recieved is when a drunk (READ: Drunk with abusive power) ran a redlight without his lights or sirense and right over the front of our brand new vehicle, breaking my mothers back and causing the deadly spread of cancer to her spinal column. Then when we tried to get them to cover our medical expenses the DA turned said case around on us, stating my mother shouldn't have been driving in her condition and she was a reckless endangerment or some bullshit.
Korova @ Mar 2nd 2008 12:12PM
North Carolina?
You know they got paid only because their son was white!
Yes, I went there.
License to ill @ Mar 2nd 2008 12:21PM
You're a fucking idiot, race had nothing to do with it. I am curious as to why they needed to raid his house instead of just knocking on the door and serving the search warrant . What were they afraid he was going to flush the two PS3???
Korova @ Mar 2nd 2008 12:35PM
Where are you from License? How do you know it didn't.
The South, and especially its legal system and juries, are very biased and unsympathetic to black victims.
Fatass of Kickassness @ Mar 2nd 2008 12:56PM
It's still a really fucking dumb point to bring up.
Autopsy15 @ Mar 2nd 2008 5:01PM
Korova you are a dumb fuck.
The majority of the south is black, so why wouldn't they want to give each other money? And where the fuck are you from to say so much about the souths judicial systems?
Race had nothing to do with it, shut your dumb ass up.
Korova @ Mar 2nd 2008 10:41PM
"As of the census 2007, North Carolina population are as follows: 70% White American, 22.3% African-American, 1.2% American Indian, and the remaining 6.5% are Hispanic or Latino (of any race)." Wikipedia.
Fail on North Carolina being majority black. You may be thinking Mississippi.
I support my statements with travel experience and learning about the American civil rights movement.
Both US Senators from NC are White and Republican.
Anyway. This is way off topic to be dealing with your denial issues.
License to ill @ Mar 3rd 2008 1:13AM
"Where are you from License"?
New Orleans area can't get more south then that, but I grew up a Army brat lived all over the world so I didn't grow up around racist shit...
Cheezeman3000 @ Mar 3rd 2008 3:30AM
Your statue is white you fucking racist.
Korova @ Mar 3rd 2008 7:34AM
Cheezeman, I dont understand how a statue of Beethoven in sunglasses implicates your point. I dont think I am a racist.
That thought just popped into my head because I support social justice and the award, the apology, breaking the blue wall of silence seemed so unlike the experience of many non-white victims of police brutality and misconduct that I know of.
Tranando @ Mar 2nd 2008 12:24PM
Slow news day? What the fuck does this have to do with gaming?
Microswirl @ Mar 2nd 2008 2:25PM
I believe it might possibly have something to do with a Playstation 3, which, if memory serves, is some sort of video gaming machine...
Tranando @ Mar 2nd 2008 6:04PM
In other news, a plane crashed, 4 people on board owned Playstation 3 consoles..
For fucks sake, this item is the most tenuous news item ever...
Microswirl @ Mar 2nd 2008 9:49PM
In the example you gave the fact that some people on board had PS3's is not an essential detail. If, on the other hand, a PS3 in someone's luggage exploded and caused the plane to crash, then that would be a perfectly valid story to post here... actually, make that an Xbox360; more plausible.
Phylicus @ Mar 2nd 2008 12:35PM
Cops don't kill people. PS3s kill people.
CONFUSEDgam3r @ Mar 2nd 2008 12:42PM
"Zing!"