THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 9, 1996 TAG: 9607090228
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 77 lines
For the second time since April, Norfolk has settled a lawsuit that alleged civil rights were violated when police conducted raids to confiscate animals.
The latest settlement involves Harry P. Ferro, the Ghent animal lover whose family was raided twice - in 1992 and 1994 - after neighbors complained of too many animals in his mother's home.
The city paid Ferro $6,000 last week to settle his federal lawsuit, City Attorney Philip Trapani said Monday. A two-day trial was scheduled to start this week.
Ferro sued the city in Norfolk's federal court in December 1994, six months after the raid. He claimed that the city violated his due-process rights by raiding his mother's home in Ghent on June 30, 1994. Officers seized 25 cats and five dogs. Ferro said he owned one of the dogs, a Doberman.
If the case had gone to trial, the main issue would have been the city's procedure for owners trying to get their animals back after they are seized.
The city kept the Ferro dogs two months, claiming they were needed as evidence and to protect their well-being. The Ferros got four dogs back after paying the city $1,984 for boarding - $8 per day per dog for 62 days.
Ferro's lawsuit claimed this was illegal because the City Code does not provide a way for someone to contest an animal's seizure or the amount of fees charged.
The lawsuit did not address the 1992 raid on the same house, where police seized 112 rabbits, 88 cats and 16 dogs.
On Monday, Ferro acknowledged the city made a cash settlement, but he would not reveal how much. ``It was not too much,'' Ferro said.
Trapani said the settlement was $6,000, including Ferro's legal fees. Ferro had sued the city for $600,000. Neither side admitted liability, Trapani said.
Ferro may not keep the money long: The city has filed a new lawsuit against his mother, Raquel Ferro, and his sister, Shirley Ferro, to collect $11,928 in boarding fees for the cats.
The city filed suit June 25 to recover boarding fees of $8 a day for 71 days for each of 21 cats. Harry Ferro's settlement does not affect the boarding fees. On Monday, Ferro said he was unaware of the new lawsuit.
Police raided Raquel Ferro's house at 914 Colonial Ave. after neighbors complained about the stench of urine and feces. Later, Raquel Ferro was convicted of failing to vaccinate and license her pets and was fined $1,300.
In the raid, Raquel and Harry Ferro were arrested and charged with impeding a police officer. The lawsuit said Harry Ferro's arrest was ``without a warrant and without probable cause and therefore unlawful.'' He was later acquitted.
The lawsuit also said that the city ``departed from the normal procedure in regard to pet violation, maliciously and intentionally, in order to subject your plaintiff and his family to the cruel and unreasonable punishment not only of an `invasion' by numerous officers but the deprivation of their pets, as well.''
Trapani said Monday that his office is reviewing city laws regarding the seizure and boarding of animals. He said he expects to recommend changes to the City Council in about a month.
This is the second time this year that Norfolk has settled an animal seizure lawsuit. In April, Norfolk settled a lawsuit in which reptile collector Robert Parks said the city illegally searched his home for eight days in 1993 and seized about 125 alligators, crocodiles and snakes. He said the city wrecked parts of his house and illegally kept him out of the home during the raid.
In that case, the settlement was confidential and terms were not divulged.
KEYWORDS: LAWSUIT by CNB