$3.25M Settlement For Parents Whose Children Were Wrongfully Taken

SAN JOSE (AP) — A federal jury has awarded $3.25 million to a family that accused San Jose police officers of wrongly putting their children in protective custody.

A U.S. District Court jury in San Jose awarded the money to Tracy Watson, Renee Stalker and their children on Friday.

The jury ruled earlier that police violated Watson and Stalker's constitutional rights when they entered their home without a warrant in 2005 and seized their three children.

The family says the children were kept from them for more than a year.

Police were apparently concerned by the 8-year-old daughter's behavior at school, and believed she may have been abused.

San Jose City Attorney Rick Doyle tells the San Jose Mercury News he is considering appealing.

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