SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 66 Barcode 034392
Amendment No. 1
CHAMBER ACTION
Senate House
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11 The Committee on Criminal Justice recommended the following
12 amendment:
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14 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
15 Delete everything after the enacting clause
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17 and insert:
18 Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this
19 act are found and declared to be true.
20 Section 2. The City of St. Petersburg is authorized
21 and directed to appropriate from funds of the city not
22 otherwise appropriated and to draw a warrant in the sum of
23 $655,346.97 payable to Alfred Brinkley Roberts to compensate
24 him for injuries and damages sustained. After payment of
25 Alfred Brinkley Roberts' outstanding medical bills, medical
26 liens, and attorney's fees, the remaining proceeds shall be
27 used to provide for the care of Alfred Brinkley Roberts for
28 the duration of his life.
29 Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
30 law.
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 66 Barcode 034392
Amendment No. 1
1 ================ T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ===============
2 And the title is amended as follows:
3 Delete everything before the enacting clause
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5 and insert:
6 A bill to be entitled
7 An act relating to the City of St. Petersburg;
8 providing for the relief of Alfred Brinkley
9 Roberts; authorizing and directing the City of
10 St. Petersburg to compensate him for injuries
11 suffered due to the negligence of an employee
12 of the city; providing an effective date.
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14 WHEREAS, on August 31, 1991, Alfred Brinkley Roberts
15 was walking across Ninth Avenue South, near 15th Street, in
16 St. Petersburg, when he was struck by a police cruiser that
17 had been traveling at a speed in excess of 65 miles per hour
18 in a 35-mile-per-hour zone, and
19 WHEREAS, due to its sliding wheels, the cruiser could
20 not be steered and left more than 200 feet of skid marks as
21 it, in effect, followed Alfred Brinkley Roberts out of the
22 travel lane and into an unmarked parking zone, where the
23 actual impact took place, and
24 WHEREAS, Alfred Brinkley Roberts' injuries were extreme
25 and included massive brain and orthopedic injuries,
26 incontinence, and confinement for the rest of his life to a
27 wheelchair, and
28 WHEREAS, the police officer operating the cruiser was
29 investigated by the St. Petersburg Police Department's
30 Internal Affairs, which found the officer to be at fault for
31 causing the accident, and
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 66 Barcode 034392
Amendment No. 1
1 WHEREAS, at the time of the accident, Alfred Brinkley
2 Roberts had alcohol present in his system; however, it was
3 shown at trial that it would have been impossible for any
4 person to have avoided the swerving, out-of-control cruiser,
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6 WHEREAS, after a lengthy trial, the jury awarded Alfred
7 Brinkley Roberts $1,267,735.05, which was reduced by 20
8 percent to $1,014,188.04, for comparative negligence, and
9 WHEREAS, following the trial, the parties entered into
10 a settlement agreement in October 2000 that provides for a
11 total payment of $764,958.37, less amounts previously paid by
12 the City of St. Petersburg, for a net additional amount of
13 $655,346.97, and
14 WHEREAS, Alfred Brinkley Roberts has outstanding
15 medical bills and liens that include, but are not limited to,
16 $230,239.86 to Bayfront Medical Center, $6,235 to Dr. Clinton
17 B. Davis, II, and $153,621 to the Veterans Administration, and
18 WHEREAS, Alfred Brinkley Roberts also owes his attorney
19 for legal services rendered during the 9 years that he has
20 been pursuing compensation for his injuries and also needs
21 funds for his care for the duration of his life, NOW,
22 THEREFORE,
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