Settlements

On June 24, 2015, officers from the Detroit Police Department were on patrol when they allegedly observed an occupant of a vehicle driven by Lorenzo Harris holding a handgun. However, no gun was ever recovered. Harris fled from the police at speeds of up to ninety-five miles per hour as he drove down a residential street where the Jackson children and others were playing outside. According to the Jackson family’s lawsuit, the police cruiser allegedly bumped Harris’s vehicle, causing Harris to lose control and hit the Jackson children, killing them. Three other children were critically injured.

Spicer was killed in a crash involving a vehicle fleeing the police. On September 2, 2020, officers with the Chicago Police Department attempted to stop a vehicle for traffic violations and initiated a pursuit after the driver refused to pull over and sped away. The fleeing car struck two other vehicles, including a sedan containing Kevin Amir Spicer and his two children: ten-year-old Da’Karia and five-year-old Dhaamir. The children were transported to a hospital, where Da’Karia was pronounced dead and Dhaamir was deemed to be in critical condition.

On September 28, 2020, Ferreira was in his wheelchair while attending a Black Lives Matter protest in North Portland when Sergeant Justin Damerville allegedly attempted to pull him from his wheelchair and forcibly arrested him, wrenching his arm hard enough to lift part of the chair. Ferreira suffered soft tissue damage to his shoulder and an exacerbation of his medical condition that causes brittle bones. Ferreira reported that the injury was life-altering and resulted in his reliance on a power wheelchair. Damerville resigned from the Portland Police Bureau in 2022. Ferreira also stated that Portland Police regularly targeted him both before and after the 2020 incident. He alleged that officers assaulted him again in April 2023 as he was attempting to go home and kicked his leg, requiring surgery. 

On October 3, 2023, forty-five-year-old Gomez was sitting in her car outside a public housing complex when Officer Felipe Hernandez, who was on bicycle patrol, told Gomez she was not supposed to be outside the complex at that hour. According to the lawsuit, Hernandez berated Gomez and threatened to make her life a “living hell.” When Gomez began backing her car out of the parking space, Hernandez fired three shots, killing her. Hernandez was charged with second-degree murder and fired from the Las Cruces Police Department in 2024. The $20 million settlement was reportedly the largest settlement ever paid by Las Cruces.

Ten-year-old Christine Cole disappeared in January 1988, and her body was later discovered. In 2019, Monteiro was arrested and charged with Cole’s murder. Seven months later, prosecutors dropped the charges after determining that the DNA evidence was not an exact match and only placed Monteiro in a pool of approximately 2,000 people who could have been responsible for the crime. Monteiro alleged that he was arrested without probable cause, deprived of his constitutional rights, falsely imprisoned, and slandered. A federal judge decided not to dismiss Monteiro’s ensuing lawsuit, and a settlement conference reached the $1 million settlement. According to the lawsuit, the arrest caused Monteiro to lose his job of fifteen years and ultimately led to homelessness. 

On February 10, 2020, Bates and two other people were suspected of shoplifting and were pursued by Brentwood Police Department officers. The group left the store by car, collided with a Brentwood Police car, and then fled on foot. Officer Ryan Rezentes was off duty at the time but was asked to join the pursuit. Rezentes sicced his K-9 dog on Bates as she was hiding in a bush. After the dog bit Bates on the head, officers’ body camera footage showed large portions of Bates’s scalp missing, revealing bone and tissue. The attack left Bates with a variety of health issues, including mild diffuse traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression. Before the settlement, a federal judge ruled that Rezentes was authorized to make an arrest with a K-9 even though he was off duty, but the amount of time that Rezentes allowed the K-9 to bite Bates could be considered excessive force. 

On May 3, 2024, officers with the North Myrtle Beach Police Department stopped eighteen-year-old Hemingway’s Dodge Charger after a license plate reader mistakenly identified the vehicle as a stolen Dodge Challenger. Although the officers quickly recognized the error, they ordered Hemingway out of her car at gunpoint, forced her to walk backward, and placed her in handcuffs. After several minutes, the officers confirmed that the vehicle was not stolen and released her. Hemingway alleged that the incident left her traumatized. As of November 2024, both officers involved remained on duty.

On June 27, 2022, Akron Police Department officers attempted to stop Walker for a broken license plate light. Walker did not stop, and a chase followed. According to a state investigation, Walker fired a single shot from his car before fleeing on foot, leaving the gun behind in his still-moving vehicle. Eight officers pursued Walker and opened fire, killing him while he was unarmed. An autopsy found that Walker sustained forty-six gunshot wounds or graze injuries in less than seven seconds. A grand jury later declined to indict any of the officers involved.

Each plaintiff, Eruby Abrego, Robert Bouto, David Gecht, Alfredo Gonzalez Jr., Thomas Kelly, Richard Kwil, John Martinez, and Daniel Rodriguez, would receive $3.1 million. The men were framed by Guevara and his associates between 1990 and 1999, and were convicted based on fabricated evidence and coerced confessions. Collectively, they spent more than 190 years in prison for crimes they did not commit. During their interrogations, police physically beat them, subjected them to psychological abuse, denied them access to lawyers and loved ones, deprived them of food, water, and sleep, and promised to release them if they signed false confessions, but the men were nonetheless charged, convicted, and sentenced to decades in prison.

On July 5, 2018, Chicago Police Officers Kevin Gomez and Andrius Tkachuk attempted to pull over John Tinker. In trying to evade the police, Tinker crashed into Banks’s car, leaving Banks with fractured ribs and a fractured pelvis. Banks sued the City, alleging that the police caused the crash by failing to follow department pursuit rules. The City also sued Tinker, seeking to force him to pay damages, but he had no assets, leaving the City responsible for the settlement.

On January 27, 2019, Denver Police Department officers responded to a call about shots fired near Quintana’s home. Her son, Joseph Quintana, was in the basement and allegedly fired at police when they arrived. A larger police presence, including snipers, soon arrived. The lawsuit alleged that officers threw tear gas canisters, some of which were prohibited for indoor use due to their flammability, into the residence. The Denver Fire Department later determined that one of the gas grenades likely ignited the fire that destroyed much of Quintana’s house. Joseph Quintana shot himself as the blaze engulfed the home and later died. A federal appeals court ruled that the officers were legally immune for actions taken in the line of duty, but the City could still be sued.

On March 29, 2019, Worcester Police Department officers arrested Rodriguez and three other people during a brawl outside a nightclub. Rodriguez alleged that the officers sicced a police dog on him without just cause and then filed false reports to justify charging him with assault and battery on a police officer, resisting arrest, disturbing the peace, and disorderly conduct. Worcester Police initially claimed that Rodriguez had punched an officer, but video footage contradicted their account and led to most charges being dropped. A U.S. Department of Justice report described the incident as an example of improper use of a police dog, noting that the dog continued to bite well after the officers had Rodriguez under control. Rodriguez alleged that he suffered significant scarring, atrophy, and deformity to his left leg, as well as mental distress, and that he required repeated hospital visits while in custody.

On September 6, 2017, Chavez called 911 and stated, through a Spanish-speaking interpreter, that he wanted to turn himself in ahead of an upcoming court date. Chavez informed dispatch that he had a gun but no bullets. When officers arrived, they encountered Chavez outside. He raised his hands while still holding the gun. Officers reportedly issued repeated commands in English for him to drop the weapon, but Chavez did not speak English. According to the civil lawsuit, Chavez had mental health challenges, and the language barrier prevented him from complying with the officers’ commands. Police stated that they perceived an “imminent deadly threat” when Chavez did not drop the gun, and Officer David Guerra subsequently shot and killed him.

On October 29, 2020, Peterson was allegedly on his way to sell Xanax pills but ran away once he realized it was a police drug sting operation. Multiple Clark County deputies fatally shot Peterson while he was running away. Peterson’s family filed a lawsuit in May 2022 alleging wrongful death, negligence, and excessive force. The case was scheduled to go to jury trial in 2025 before the parties reached the settlement.

On September 28, 2017, Watertown Police Department officers arrested DeAnna LeTray, a transgender woman, during a domestic call. According to the lawsuit, an officer made disparaging remarks about LeTray’s gender identity and appearance. At the police station, officers allegedly removed LeTray’s hair and later subjected her to a strip search and an invasive cavity search at the jail. The suit also challenged the jail’s blanket strip-search policy as unconstitutional. LeTray reported suffering from anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, and panic attacks as a result. As part of the settlement, the Watertown Police Department committed to adopting clear guidelines governing the treatment of TGNCNBI individuals, including respectfully using correct names, titles, and pronouns; ensuring that transportation, search, and booking procedures respect gender identity; and requiring disciplinary action for officers with sustained complaints of gender-based discrimination. The Jefferson County Correctional Facility agreed to house and search TGNCNBI individuals consistent with their gender identity, ensure respectful name and pronoun use by jail staff, and ensure access to nondiscriminatory medical and mental health care, including access to gender-affirming items and treatment for gender dysphoria. 

On June 1, 2020, Nieters attended a demonstration following the police murder of George Floyd to document the protest and the police response. According to his lawsuit, police officers ordered the crowd to disperse and deployed tear gas and flashbangs. Nieters had already left the protest and stopped to photograph officers running nearby when Officer Brandon Holtan ran directly toward him. Despite Nieters identifying himself as a journalist and displaying his press credentials, Holtan tackled, pepper-sprayed, and detained him. Nieters was held in police custody for approximately twelve hours and was not permitted to make any phone calls until after his initial court appearance the following day. He was charged with failure to disperse, but the charge was later dropped. In addition to the monetary settlement, both the City of Des Moines and the Des Moines Police Department were required to issue public statements affirming the importance of a free press.

On September 8, 2018, Jok was standing outside with a group of people when their conversation became heated. According to the lawsuit and body-worn camera footage, Officer Joseph Corrow approached the group and did not announce himself or issue any commands before slamming Jok to the ground, knocking him unconscious. Jok, a former child soldier and refugee from South Sudan, has experienced intermittent homelessness while living in Burlington.

In a lawsuit filed in July 2023 that named Denver Police Department Detective Mark Matthews, Carey and his attorneys at the Civil Rights Litigation Group alleged that he was falsely arrested and charged with stealing a commercial truck in 2022 based on flawed evidence. According to the lawsuit, Matthews ignored errors and discrepancies in how fingerprint evidence was collected and processed after police recovered one of the stolen trucks. A fingerprint matching Carey’s was found only on a cargo box outside the truck’s cab. The lawsuit also alleged that Matthews disregarded eyewitness accounts describing a person who did not match Carey’s appearance or age. Carey was arrested in August 2022 and held in jails in Arapahoe County and Denver for six days. During that time, he lacked access to medication for his kidney disease. The charges against Carey were ultimately dismissed in January 2023.

On May 30, 2020, Orlin and Murphy were separately attending a protest in Denver over the police killing of George Floyd. According to the lawsuit, Denver Police Department officers launched tear gas canisters into the peaceful crowd. Police also fired kinetic impact projectiles, commonly referred to as “less lethal” rounds made of rubber, plastic, or bean bags filled with pellets, striking both men. Orlin was hit in the face, which broke a bone near his eye, caused a traumatic brain injury, and resulted in partial vision loss. Murphy also suffered a broken bone near his eye and a detached retina, and now has a permanent blind spot in his vision.

On September 16, 1991, police arrested fifteen-year-old Jakes in connection with the murder of forty-eight-year-old Rafael Garcia during an attempted robbery. Chicago Police Detectives Michael Kill and Kenneth Boudreau interrogated him for sixteen hours, during which they allegedly beat him and caused injuries to his back, stomach, knee, elbow, and ribs. According to the lawsuit, Kill also threatened to throw Jakes from a window and to use his gang connections to harm Jakes’s family if he did not confess. In violation of state law, Jakes was only allowed to speak to a juvenile officer after signing a four-page confession written by Kill. No physical or forensic evidence linked Jakes to the crime, and the coerced confession was the only evidence used to indict him for murder and attempted armed robbery. Although Jakes was eventually released and given a certificate of innocence in 2019, his life was irreversibly impacted by his two decades incarcerated.

On May 13, 2020, Starke and Piazza stopped Caldwell for an apparent headlight infraction while her car was parked outside her home. According to the lawsuit, when she complied with the officers’ requests to exit her car, Starke grabbed her arm and Caldwell pulled her arm away. Starke and Piazza then allegedly slammed her to the ground. The force broke Caldwell’s leg in two places and required surgical repair, according to the lawsuit. The suit further alleged that the officers provided inconsistent accounts of the incident in their reports, and that the traffic stop was racially motivated. 

On June 1, 2020, Cruz attended a protest following the police murder of George Floyd with the intention of documenting the demonstration. When the city’s curfew began, Denver Police started firing rubber projectiles and deploying tear gas into the crowd. Cruz ran into a parking garage in an attempt to escape the tear gas. Police officers followed him and repeatedly fired pepper ball projectiles at close range even after he surrendered to police, striking him in the face and causing bruising and swelling beneath his left eye. Police arrested him on charges of violating a curfew and failing to obey a lawful order, but prosecutors later dropped the charges. He was held in jail for more than twelve hours without receiving medical attention and continues to experience vision problems, including light sensitivity. 

According to the lawsuit, on February 26, 2022, a Lincoln Police cruiser crossed two eastbound lanes while making a left turn without signaling, cutting off the vehicle driven by Jarod Velte. When the vehicles collided, Jarod Velte sustained multiple severe injuries, including a traumatic brain injury. Jamie Velte also suffered injuries and was informed by doctors that she would experience lifelong neck and back pain. She was also diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder following the crash.

The lawsuit, filed in 2021 by the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas and Kansas Appleseed, alleged that the Police Department’s gang database disproportionately targeted Black and Latinx residents based on unreliable or nonexistent evidence, including their clothing, tattoos, or attendance at funerals. Individuals were allegedly placed on the list without notice or any opportunity to challenge the designation, resulting in heightened police scrutiny, reputational harm, and barriers to housing and employment. Under the settlement, $550,000 would compensate plaintiffs and cover legal costs, and the City would pay $75,000 for a special master to provide oversight for three years. The City also agreed to reform placement criteria for the list, establish a review process, and create a public accountability process allowing individuals to learn whether they are listed and challenge their inclusion.

On August 22, 2022, Olympia Police responded to reports of Green causing a disturbance at a Starbucks. When officers were unable to take Green, who was holding a knife, into custody, Officer Jordan Anderson shot Green three times. Green, who had bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, later died at a hospital. The Olympia Police Department stated it was “too dangerous to call the Olympia Crisis Response Unit,” even though Green’s family had called 911 three days earlier seeking mental health assistance and officers on scene were aware of his diagnoses. In addition to the monetary payment, the settlement mandated department-wide reforms and training requirements. Olympia Police Chief Rich Allen, deputy chiefs, and the officers present at the scene were required to complete a training on the intersection of race and policing within one year. The City was also required to ensure that all patrol officers complete forty hours of crisis intervention training within two years, as well as an eight-hour Crisis Intervention Training Force Options course. The settlement further required the Police Department to adopt a policy prohibiting employees from personalizing police equipment, as Anderson had been wearing “Blue Lives Matter” gloves at the scene.