A Bethel jury has awarded $14,000 to a man who was injured in the back of a police vehicle when the officer driving crashed into an electrical pole.
KYUK-AM reports that Adrian Hoffman of Tununak suffered minor injuries in the 2014 crash including bruising, a broken nose and other contusions.
According to police records, former Bethel Police Officer Aaron Fedolfi was driving the vehicle with Hoffman in the back seat when he lost control due to icy conditions. The vehicle slid into an electrical pole.
Hoffman had been taken into police custody that night for causing a disturbance in a home while intoxicated.
Hoffman’s attorney says police footage shows Fedolfi buckling his own seat belt but not Hoffman’s.
Fedolfi is serving a one-year prison sentence for an unrelated crime.
