Senator Rand Paul has testified that he believed he might die during the brutal physical attack he suffered 14 months ago at the hands of a disgruntled neighbor who has left Paul in ‘constant pain’.
Senator Paul testified Monday afternoon in Warren Circuit Court in the case of Rand Paul vs. Rene Boucher.
“I shouldn’t have to deal with this pain that was purposely inflicted on me,” Paul urged while explaining the damage that Boucher caused when he suddenly slammed into an unaware Paul during the attack.
Paul’s lawyer, Tom Kerrick, presented x-rays of the Senator’s injuries, including broken and displaced ribs. Kerrick added that doctors advised Paul to undergo hernia surgery last week, meaning he is still feeling the effects of the attack.
The attack stemmed from a domestic dispute involving leaves falling from trees on Paul’s property. The Senator was sweeping the leaves into piles when he was attacked by Boucher, who had burned himself attempting to dispose of the leaves the day before.
Paul noted that Boucher hit him with such force that both men flew 5 or 10 feet through the air before hitting the ground.
As he was recounting the incident, Paul revealed that he thought he might die during the attack.
“At this point, I thought, ‘I can’t breathe. … If I do nothing, this may be the last breath I ever take, because whoever is doing this isn’t stopping.’ And I really thought if I got another blow to my back, I wasn’t going to survive. And so really I did think I could die at that point. The thought crossed my mind that I may never get up from this lawn again,” Paul said.
Boucher’s attorney argued that Paul didn’t go to hospital following the attack and “only treated his injuries with ibuprofen”
Paul explained that he did this because he did not want to take stronger drugs and risk becoming impaired and unable to fulfill his Senate duties.
“My thought was, ‘Do I want to take the risk of becoming addicted to something that I’m going to have to take for months and months?'” Paul said.
“Someone who is this violent really needs to be punished or other people will just think it’s okay,” Paul added.
Paul is suing Boucher for $500,000 to cover medical bills and compensation for undue pain and suffering, as well as seeking up to $1 million in punitive damages.
Boucher previously pleaded guilty to assaulting a member of Congress and was sentenced to 30 days in prison. Federal prosecutors have appealed the sentence.
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