Settlements

On November 22, 2023, Liles approached a neighbor’s home while holding a knife, believing her missing dog was in a neighbor’s backyard and that someone might harm the dog. Both the neighbor and Liles called law enforcement. The responding officers from the Rancho Cordova Police Department spoke with the neighbors and then walked to Liles’s home, where they observed her sitting inside her vehicle in the driveway after she had found her dog. Officers tapped on the driver’s side window and attempted to speak with her but did not identify themselves or inform Liles that she was under investigation for any crime. When Liles refused repeated commands to exit the vehicle because she said she did not do anything wrong, a deputy attempted to physically remove her from the car. Liles then reversed her vehicle down the driveway, and two officers fired a total of ten shots at her vehicle and shot her twice in the arm.

On May 30, 2020, Young and Pilgrim were stuck in traffic in downtown Atlanta caused by protests over the killing of George Floyd when Atlanta Police Department officers approached their vehicle. Body camera and bystander footage showed officers surrounding the car, breaking a window, and deploying Tasers on the students before pulling them out of the vehicle. Officers repeatedly punched Young, who sustained injuries to his arm that required thirteen stitches. The officers involved claimed that Young possessed a firearm, but no weapon was recovered at the scene. Although two officers were initially fired and six were charged, the Atlanta Civil Service Board later overturned the terminations and a special prosecutor ultimately dropped all charges against the six officers.

On February 12, 2023, Exline was walking along Interstate 81 when he was approached by a West Virginia state trooper. The trooper immediately drew his firearm and pointed it at Exline before switching to a Taser. He then repeatedly deployed the Taser and called for backup. Two additional West Virginia state troopers soon arrived and began to physically assault Exline, including by striking him with a flashlight and kneeing him. Exline, who was unarmed, was not under the influence of any alcohol or narcotics, and was not committing a crime, became unresponsive during the incident and died. 

On August 8, 2020, eight Tulsa Police officers responded to a call about a man attempting to scale a fence at a transitional living facility. During the encounter, officers informed Randell that he could not leave due to an outstanding “weak felony warrant” related to a 2017 incident. Randell became visibly upset and agitated, and he pulled out a knife. A mental health specialist attempted to intervene, but Randell began cutting himself with the knife. Officers fired pepper balls and beanbags in an attempt to stop the self-harm. When Randell threw the knife, officers opened fire and killed him. The subsequent civil rights lawsuit alleged that Randell sustained more than fifty gunshot wounds. Officers Cody Riley, William Shanks, Tyler Butler, Justin McRee, and Branton Miller remained employed by the Tulsa Police Department as of July 2024, while three others involved had left the department. Miller was the only officer disciplined, receiving a 120-hour unpaid suspension.

On February 22, 2023, Officer Justin Byrnes was responding to a domestic violence call and was driving at a high speed when he ran a red light and struck Alalkawi’s car, fatally injuring him. Alalkawi was pronounced dead at a hospital. In 2024, Byrnes was terminated from the Troy Police Department. In February 2025, the New York State Attorney General’s Office declined to pursue criminal charges after concluding that prosecutors could not prove recklessness beyond a reasonable doubt.

Under the settlement, Williams would receive $325,000 and Chrysler would receive $65,000. On September 9, 2016, DiPuccio and Liadka attempted to arrest Williams and Chrysler. The lawsuit alleged that the officers repeatedly punched and kicked Williams and intentionally tripped Chrysler, causing her to fall face-first onto the ground. According to the complaint, Liadka later assaulted Williams while he was handcuffed inside an ambulance and inserted a gloved finger into an open wound Chrysler sustained from the fall. As a result of the incident, Williams required jaw surgery and medical treatment for an eye socket injury, and Chrysler required stitches. Syracuse Police declined to reveal whether the officers faced any discipline for their actions.

On April 19, 2023, Akron Police Department officers used tear gas and pepper spray against peaceful protesters calling for justice following a grand jury’s decision not to indict the officers involved in the 2022 shooting death of Jayland Walker. The Akron Bail Fund filed a federal lawsuit alleging a continued pattern of speech suppression and excessive police force. As part of the settlement, Akron Police officers must record their responses to protests and receive training on the new procedures, and city officials must hold at least one community forum to gather public feedback on the policies. The settlement included no direct monetary compensation for plaintiffs beyond $30,000 to cover attorney fees.

Meade said he shot Goodson because the young man allegedly turned toward him with a gun. Goodson’s family and prosecutors said he was holding a sandwich bag in one hand and his keys in the other when Meade fatally shot him. They did not dispute that Goodson may have been carrying a gun, but noted that he had a license to carry a firearm.

Spokane Police Department officers stated that they opened fire because they believed that Kamo, who was holding a knife and his toddler nephew, was threatening to harm the child. Kamo’s family filed a $23 million tort claim alleging that police rushed into the situation without taking adequate time to understand what was happening—particularly due to language barriers—before shooting Kamo six times. Kamo, who was grieving the recent death of his brother, was the only fluent English speaker at home at the time of the incident. Prosecutors decided not to charge the officers.

The four men spent a combined seventy-three years in prison after police allegedly coerced them into false murder confessions in 1995, when they were teenagers. They were exonerated in 2017 after forensic evidence proved they were not connected to the murders. The payout, among the largest in Chicago’s history, stemmed from lawsuits filed in 2018 alleging that police withheld exculpatory evidence and coerced their confessions, despite the lack of any physical evidence linking them to the crime. The lawsuit named thirteen police officers, none of whom had been criminally charged, a Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney, Cook County, and the City of Chicago. Between 2008 and June 2024, lawsuits stemming from reversed convictions had cost Chicago nearly $329 million.

The settlement resolved a federal lawsuit alleging that Officer Thomas Wilson, who since retired, used excessive force when he responded to a 911 call reporting that there was a man with a gun in the home. Police claimed that Callahan attacked Wilson, who then shot him. A jury sided with the County when the case went to trial in 2015, but the Callahan family appealed. A new trial was set for June 2024 before the parties reached the settlement.

The lawsuit followed a February 2018 incident in which Riggen pulled over and arrested Bombard for alleged “disorderly conduct” after Bombard cursed at Riggen and gave him the middle finger, actions protected by the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit, filed in 2021 with support from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont, revealed that the Vermont State Police lacked a general First Amendment policy or training for its officers. Following widespread backlash over the original incident, police issued Bombard another citation for disorderly conduct in December 2023. They dropped the charges the next day. As part of the settlement, Bombard agreed not to pursue additional claims related to the later incident.

Marin and her sister had parked at a McDonald’s with two young children when Officer Matthew Rodriguez and Officer Tyler Moran approached them with guns drawn, mistakenly suspecting the vehicle was linked to a prior case. Although Marin complied with the officers’ instructions, Rodriguez allegedly kicked her, pushed her to the ground, handcuffed her, and dragged her across the pavement. Marin suffered soft tissue damage and bruising. A resisting arrest charge was later dropped. A viral cellphone video recorded by a passerby contradicted Rodriguez’s report claiming that Marin was “arrested without incident,” prompting Internal Affairs to seek security footage. Rodriguez was criminally charged with a misdemeanor assault under the color of authority and placed on paid leave, while Moran left the Police Department. The same officers were also involved in a similar excessive force case days earlier, in which Anthony Cho suffered head injuries and ultimately received a $200,000 settlement in 2023.

According to the lawsuit, Duluth Police officers who were responding to a domestic disturbance call did not identify themselves or provide any warning before Officer Tyler Leibfried fired six shots through a closed door, one of which struck Fyle in the shoulder. Officers then allegedly failed to inform paramedics or Fyle himself about who had shot him. Police did not find any guns or ammunition in Fyle’s apartment. Leibfried was charged but later acquitted in the shooting. Fyle’s lawsuit alleged that police violated his Fourth Amendment rights and that the City failed to properly train Leibfried on use-of-force protocols.

In September 2022, the twenty-year-old woman was seriously injured when a freight train struck a parked police vehicle she was handcuffed inside. The crash occurred after Platteville Police Sergeant Pablo Vazquez pulled over Rios for a road rage incident and parked his patrol car on railroad tracks. Fort Lupton Police Officer Jordan Steinke, who had arrived to help, placed Rios in the back of the patrol car. Soon after, a train collided with the vehicle, causing Rios serious injuries, including severe head trauma. Steinke and Vazquez were both convicted of reckless endangerment and sentenced to probation. Steinke was also found guilty of assault and fired from her job. Rios’s lawsuit accused the officers of being reckless and failing to protect her while she was in their custody.

Dobson, who led the Opa-locka Police Department from 2016 until his dismissal in 2020, claimed that former city officials, including then-Mayor Matthew Pigatt and commissioners John Riley and Alvin Burke, attempted to influence police personnel decisions, interfere with investigations, and shield friends and relatives from law enforcement. Dobson alleged that he was threatened after resisting political pressure, and he filed multiple complaints. Dobson said the settlement helped restore his reputation, which was damaged by the public nature of his termination.

Sheriff’s deputies confronted and forcibly detained Heikkola in January 2023 after he attempted to use a drop box for unwanted prescription drugs at the Kuna Police Station. Heikkola alleged that deputies violated his civil rights by restraining him and interrogating him without reading his rights, and that they did not allow him to clean up after he soiled himself due to factors related to a recent surgery. A judge later dismissed a charge against Heikkola of resisting or obstructing officers, concluding that there was no basis for the stop or detention. As part of the settlement, the Sheriff’s Office agreed to conduct training on respecting constitutional rights. 

The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law initiated a class action lawsuit, Cottman vs. Baltimore Police Department, in 2021 after receiving reports from shooting survivors whose property was seized by Baltimore Police officers while they were hospitalized between 2018 and 2021. The suit alleged that the Baltimore Police Department’s practice of searching and seizing the personal belongings of shooting victims without a warrant or consent violated the victims’ constitutional rights. Each of the three named plaintiffs in the suit would receive $10,000. One of the plaintiffs, Faye Cottman, was shot in the back of the head while shielding her eleven-year-old son during a shooting at a playground. While Cottman was in the hospital, a detective seized her jacket, phone, and shoes without her consent. In addition to the monetary settlements, the Baltimore Police Department committed to disciplining and training its officers to ensure they conduct legal searches and seizures and created a clearer process for victims to reclaim their belongings.

On May 31, 2019, officers Christopher Buske and Leonard Brown pulled over Moore for playing music too loudly, and they forcibly arrested him after he refused to exit his vehicle. Moore alleged in the lawsuit that his constitutional rights were violated and that the officers punched him, pinned him to the ground with a knee on his neck, and taunted him. A video of the incident, which showed the officers pulling Moore from his car, sparked local protests and demands for police reform. While then-Police Chief Kenton Buckner cleared the officers of excessive force, he found that they both violated the Syracuse Police Department’s policy on demeanor in a traffic stop. Moore’s misdemeanor resisting arrest charge was later dropped, and he paid a $75 fine for the noise violation.

In December 2021, officers arrested Chavez, who had post-traumatic stress disorder, for an alleged misdemeanor of simple battery and placed her in a holding cell at the police station. Despite warning officers about her mental health, Chavez was left in a cell without continuous monitoring and died by hanging. Her family alleged that the Chicago Police Department failed to accommodate Chavez’s mental health needs. 

Quinto’s family had called 911 seeking help, but instead, police restrained Quinto in a prone position. He became unresponsive and died three days later in a hospital. The federal excessive force lawsuit named the City, then-Police Chief Tammany Brooks, and four officers as defendants. Quinto’s death prompted significant local reforms, including the deployment of police body cameras, the creation of a mental health crisis response team, and the establishment of a police review commission. 

The lawsuit, Payne et al. v. Mayor Bill de Blasio et al., named both City officials and individual NYPD officers for their roles in alleged indiscriminate and unconstitutional use of force against peaceful demonstrators. In addition to monetary damages, the settlement included significant injunctive relief as part of a broader legal agreement reached in 2023 that mandated sweeping reforms. These included improved documentation and oversight of NYPD deployments at demonstrations, with compliance monitored by an independent committee.

Perez had reported his seventy-one-year-old father missing, but detectives soon turned their suspicions on him based on small blood stains and an alert from a corpse-sniffing dog. The lawsuit alleged that during the seventeen-hour interrogation at the police station, officers falsely told Perez his father was dead, denied him sleep and medication, and threatened to euthanize his dog. In psychological distress, Perez falsely confessed to stabbing his father. He then attempted suicide when he was left alone in the interrogation room, and he was subsequently hospitalized. Police later found his father alive at an airport. Perez filed a lawsuit in 2019 alleging that the Fontana Police had violated his due process rights, as well as his constitutional rights against unreasonable search and seizure and excessive force. As of May 2024, three involved officers remained on the force, and one had retired.

The incident, captured on body camera footage, occurred during a protest following the murder of George Floyd by police. Montemayor was moving slowly with his hands up, posing no threat, when a Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officer shot him at close range. He required emergency surgery to repair his testicle and suffered long-term physical and psychological effects. The settlement, which at the time was the largest over the LAPD’s 2020 protest response, followed findings by the Los Angeles Police Commission that the shooting was unjustified.

Gadson, a Black Navy veteran, alleged that Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) officers violently beat him without warning during a 2022 traffic stop. Although the CSPD claimed that Gadson resisted arrest and reached for a knife, body camera footage sparked public concern. The CSPD cleared the officers of wrongdoing following internal investigations, but two of the three officers involved were reprimanded. The district attorney’s office dropped all charges against Gadson in early 2023, except for a $15 fine related to a license plate violation. National civil rights attorneys representing Gadson said the settlement sent a message about police accountability.