MIAMI, Okla. (AP) - An Ottawa County man who was shown on a video being kicked in the head as he was arrested in Miami, Oklahoma, has settled his civil rights lawsuit with state and city officials.
The Tulsa World (https://bit.ly/1X3LseA ) reports that Jerry Dean Payne Jr.’s attorneys submitted a court filing Monday that indicated he had settled his portion of a federal lawsuit against the city of Miami and two of its former officers for an undisclosed amount of money.
City Manager Dean Kruithof said that the city paid an insurance company around $25,000, representing the city’s deductible for claims arising from legal settlements.
“Just like all cities in Oklahoma, that’s why you buy insurance,” Kruithof said.
Payne had filed a suit in January 2014 against the city, officers Jeremy Myers and Teresa Lashmet, the state Department of Public Safety and Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Kenny McKee after his May 2013 arrest. Payne has already reached a $46,500 settlement with McKee and the public safety department.
One of Payne’s attorneys, Bob Blakemore, said he couldn’t discuss the settlement reached with the city, but that he was happy with its terms.
“We were pleased with the settlement and that we can avoid the costs of litigation and just kind of move down the road,” Blakemore said.
Blakemore said that if the settlement hadn’t been reached, his client would’ve tried the case.
“There was some very serious misconduct on behalf of the officers and the city,” Blakemore said. “It was clear that our client’s rights had been violated.”
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Information from: Tulsa World, https://www.tulsaworld.com
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