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Paul Files Civil Suit Against Neighbor Who Broke His Ribs

Rene Boucher, was sentenced to 30 days in prison and fined $10,000 for the blindside hit

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., filed a civil suit against the neighbor who tackled him to the ground last November, leaving him in the hospital with six broken ribs. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., filed a civil suit against the neighbor who tackled him to the ground last November, leaving him in the hospital with six broken ribs. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Sen. Rand Paul is seeking compensation and punitive damages from the neighbor who tackled him to the ground last November, a blindside hit that left Paul in the hospital with six broken ribs and a bout of recurring pneumonia.

The Kentucky Republican filed a civil suit against his longtime neighbor, Rene Boucher, in Warren Circuit Court in Kentucky on Friday, the Bowling Green Daily News reported.

Boucher, a doctor in the Bowling Green area, was sentenced to 30 days in prison and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine earlier this month after pleading guilty to felony assault on a member of Congress.

In the six-page civil complaint filed Friday, Paul’s attorney, Kyle Bumgarner, alleges that the senator faces an “increased likelihood of, and susceptibility to, injury and disease and … he has been deprived of his enjoyment of life” as a result of Boucher’s assault last autumn, the Daily News reported.

Boucher’s tackle was “unnecessarily cruel, malicious, willful, [and] wanton and evinc[ed] a total reckless disregard for [Paul’s] rights, life and liberties,” Bumgarner wrote.

Paul also requested an injunction against Boucher to prohibit him from contacting the senator or his family.

Boucher “will continue in the future the pattern of stalking and harassment” of Paul’s family without an injunction, Bumgarner alleges in the lawsuit.

Boucher’s attorney in his criminal proceedings, Matt Baker, will continue to represent his client in the civil case. He dismissed many of Paul’s allegations from the court complaint.

“To the best of my knowledge, Sen. Paul has not suffered any loss of any income and doesn’t appear that he will in the future,” Baker told the Daily News.

“It was established at the sentencing hearing that he does not have any out-of-pocket medical expenses in this case, and at some point after the incident he told Fox News in an on-camera interview that he has not taken any prescription pain medication, and so all that is to say we’re going to defend this civil suit just like we would any other and see if we can get it resolved as efficiently as possible,” Baker said.

Boucher has paid the $10,000 fine, Baker told the Daily News. He has not begun serving his 30-day prison sentence.

Watch: Reindeer Sausage, Cocaine With Your Spouse and Throwing the Softball Game: Congressional Hits and Misses

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