Police Abuse Lawsuit Settlement

As reported at http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/6349894 , a Houston man has settled a police abuse lawsuit against the City of Santa Fe, Texas and wants two police officers fired because he believes they will abuse others.  See, Rice, Harvey, “Santa Fe Settles Police-Abuse Lawsuit For $125,000,” chron.com, 3/30/09.  According to the article, Santa Fe signed an agreement to settle a federal lawsuit the Houston man filed in which he accused two officers of beating him and spraying him with pepper spray while he was pinned to the ground during an August 21, 2006 incident.  The article reports further that the City of Santa Fe settled the federal lawsuit after a jury in February returned a not guilty verdict in 19 minutes on a resisting arrest charge against the Houston man.

Whether police abuse, police misconduct or excessive force by police occurs Houston, Dallas, Santa Fe or elsewhere, victims of law enforcement officer abuse may consider making an internal complaint to the appropriate law enforcement department and contact an attorney to determine if a police abuse lawsuit or excessive force lawsuit may ultimately be warranted under the particular facts and circumstances of the potential police abuse claim.