Woman Wins Civil Rights Damages

A federal jury awarded $6 million to a woman who sued Boynton Beach after being shot eight times by police in an incident that triggered days of racial unrest in 1987. Jurors concluded that the city and two officers violated the civil rights of Betty Willingham, who’s black, as she came out of her house with a knife and approached an officer who was fighting with her brother. The jury said the city violated Willingham’s civil rights by failing to train, supervise or discipline its officers. Willingham was convicted of attempted murder and battery on an officer but didn’t go to jail. Her brother, Arnold Sims, was cleared of any wrongdoing.