California IN BRIEF : VISTA : Couple Get $300,000 Over Police Incident

An Oceanside couple were awarded $300,000 in damages after a jury found that police officers conspired to violate their federal civil rights when they arrested them for shining a flashlight at a police helicopter two years ago. Jurors also found that the Oceanside Police Department’s policies and practices deprived James Jensen and his wife, Mililani Smythe, of their civil rights when 11 officers burst into their home. Jensen had been a vocal opponent of the Police Department’s now-discontinued helicopter program, complaining of the aircraft’s noise when it patrolled the neighborhood.