Sheriff Negligent in 'Boys Don't Cry' Death

L I N C O L N, Neb., April 20 -- A former sheriff was negligent for notprotecting a cross-dressing woman who was murdered in the case thatinspired the movie Boys Don't Cry, the Nebraska Supreme Courtruled today.

In a scathing, 20-page opinion, Chief Justice John Hendryordered a lower court to award the victim's mother $80,000 andrefigure damages for emotional distress.

The ruling reversed an earlier decision that said Teena Brandon,who often dressed as a man and went by the alias Brandon Teena, waspartly responsible for her own death.

Sheriff Charles Laux was more concerned with Brandon's sexualitythan he was with keeping her safe after she had reported she wasraped, Hendry said.

Brandon, 21, was posing as a young man and using the aliasBrandon Teena in 1993 when two acquaintances, John Lotter andMarvin Nissen, learned her true gender. She told the sheriff theyhad raped her, and about a week later, they killed her in aHumboldt farmhouse, along with two others who witnessed her death.

‘Demeaning, Accusatory and Intimidating Treatment’

Brandon's mother, Joann Brandon, sued the sheriff for more than$350,000, saying he should have offered her daughter protectivecustody. The district judge awarded $17,360.

Joann Brandon's lawyer, Herb Friedman, hailed the ruling.

"It's clear that this young woman was tormented not only by thepeople that killed her, but tormented by a local sheriff who simplydid not understand anything about her," Friedman said. "Hebrutalized her. That should not be condoned in a civilizedsociety."

Attorney Richard Boucher, who represented Laux and RichardsonCounty in the case, declined immediate comment.

In the ruling, Hendry said Laux showed indifference to the rapeallegation by referring to Teena Brandon as "it" and notimmediately arresting the two suspects, who had threatened to killher if she reported the rape.

Hendry said Laux's tone on the tape-recorded interview was"demeaning, accusatory and intimidating."