A Sacramento man who was wounded as...

A Sacramento man who was wounded as he played the part of a “terrorist” in a mock hostage rescue exercise in 1982 was awarded $591,000 in damages. Victor Richardson, who was a special investigator to the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, was shot in the stomach by an Army sergeant on the Treasure Island military base in San Francisco Bay and still suffers from painful swelling in his leg as a result of the wound. U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel ruled the shooting was accidental, but found that Sgt. Hugh Wiley was “negligent” in inadvertently using a loaded weapon during the exercise in which ammunition was forbidden. Patel awarded the sum to Richardson for medical expenses, lost wages and his pain and suffering and an additional $50,000 to his wife, Patricia, for the loss of his companionship. Richardson was shot during a Special Weapons and Tactics course offered by Sonoma County Junior College.