A Dupo police officer who was shot by a homicide suspect last year will receive over $3 million in damages from the shooter's estate, according to the personal injury law firm representing the officer.
Sgt. Patrick Carrier was responding to a call about a shooting the afternoon of Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023, when the suspect shot him in the shoulder with an AR-15 rifle.
Carrier, 49 at the time, had worked as a police officer for 12 years. He rolled out of the way of a second shot that grazed his neck, his wife told the Belleville News-Democrat in 2023.
Reginald "Reggie" Allen, 40, of Dupo, was accused of fatally shooting his coworker Darryl Mantz, 46, of Belleville, at a home in the 400 block of McBride Avenue in unincorporated St. Clair County near Dupo before injuring Carrier.
Allen then took the squad car and drove to his house in the 700 block of McBride Avenue. He killed himself in his garage.
Carrier's attorney Matt Chapman filed a claim in Allen's probate estate and filed a civil lawsuit in St. Clair County Circuit Court seeking compensation for Carrier's injuries after learning about attempts to sell several properties Allen owned in the area, a news release from Chapman's firm Becker, Schroader and Chapman, P.C. stated.
Carrier had multiple surgeries to stop internal bleeding and to reconstruct his upper arm. He missed a year of work.
According to the release, St. Clair County Associate Judge Christopher Kolker ordered that Carrier be awarded:
- $1 million for past pain and suffering.
- $500,000 for future pain and suffering.
- $1 million in emotional distress damages.
- $1 million for loss of normal life.
- $74,602.84 for lost wages.
"I'd like to thank Judge Kolker for his compassion and fairness," Carrier stated in the release. "And I am very grateful to have Mr. Chapman in my corner fighting for me in this trial and in my other claims that are still ongoing."
Hrant Norsigian Jr., the attorney representing Allen's son in the lawsuit, could not immediately be reached for comment.
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