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Widow of slain police commander sues gun-selling website

Posted at 8:16 AM, Feb 13, 2020
and last updated 2020-02-13 19:26:12-05

CHICAGO — The widow of a slain Chicago Police Department commander has filed a lawsuit against the website used to sell the gun tied to her husband’s death.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports Erin Bauer, wife of Cmdr. Paul Bauer, filed the lawsuit against Armslist.com in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee.

The 9-millimeter Glock pistol allegedly used to kill Bauer in 2018 was sold by a Madison, Wisconsin resident to a Milwaukee resident.

The lawsuit claims the gun later made its way through the "criminal marketplace” to Shomari Legghette, who is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Paul Bauer.

The lawsuit alleges Armslist negligently allowed sales of weapons without background checks. Armslist officials haven’t responded to requests for comment.

In 2019, the state Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit alleging a firearms website enabled a man to illegally purchase the pistol he used in a mass shooting at Azana Spa and Salon in October 2012. Radcliffe Haughton shot and killed Zina Daniel, Maelyn Lind and Cary Robuck on Oct. 21. The Supreme Court ruled that federal law grants the site operators immunity through the federal Communications Decency Act, which absolves website operators of any liability resulting from posting third-party content.

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