Julius Burton, 18, could not legally purchase a gun, so he paid a friend $40 to buy one for him.
Surveillance footage inside Wisconsin’s Badger Guns shop, now known as Brew City Shooter's Supply Inc, shows Burton choosing his new weapon, as a store clerk helped the pair fill out a two-page form to ensure that 21-year-old Jacob Collins was listed as the owner.
The New York Times reports that two months later, Burton was stopped by police officers Bryan Norberg and Graham Kunisch for riding his bike on the sidewalk in 2009. The officers scuffled with the teen, before he drew his weapon and shot both officers in the face.
On Tuesday, jurors ordered the Badger Gun shop to pay officer Norberg $1.5 million and Mr Knish $3.6 million, along with $730,000 in punitive damages.
The issue has recently gained steam as the 2016 presidential race charges forward. Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton recently promised to repeal laws that shield gun shops from liability claims and provides straw purchasers with tougher sentences.
Timothy D Lytton, a law expert in gun cases at the Georgia State University College of Law, previously told the Times that a decision in the officers’ favor may encourage more plaintiffs to bring forward lawsuits against gun shops.
Burton pleaded guilty to two charges of first-degree attempted homicide in 2009 and is currently serving an 80 year sentence.
