City of St. Paul Pays One Million in Police Lawsuits

July 22, 2013 @ 1:58 PM by Tim Lynch

St. Paul spent about $1 million to settle or defend itself against lawsuits alleging police misconduct last year, which was the largest amount in at least 17 years, a newspaper reported Sunday….

The total costs — settlement amounts, city attorney staff time and court costs — were almost $800,000 in the Smith cases and more than $230,000 in the Harrington cases, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported (http://bit.ly/1bCMfPc ).

One case that was settled for $400,000 involved a woman who suffered serious burns when police used a flash-bang device while executing a search warrant at her home.

In another case, a man who ran from police wound up with a skull fracture, gashes on his head that required 21 staples to close and burns to his face caused by chemical spray. The city settled his lawsuit, which alleged that officers used excessive force, for $249,000.