In the death of Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old who died at the hands of police during an arrest in April 2015, the City of Baltimore will pay Gray’s family $6.4 million to settle civil claims. Before Gray, New York City paid Eric Garner’s family $5.9 million, and the payments continue.
Many in the Black community feel as if justice is served if the police officer is punished and if the family receives monetary settlements. However, through an informal survey, the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper found one in five participants were unaware the financial support awarded to families is funded by taxpayer dollars.
Joanna Schwartz, assistant professor of law at UCLA’s School of Law and author of the study “Police Indemnification,” analyzed records from 81 law enforcement agencies employing 20 percent of the nation’s approximately 765,000 police officers. The study found from 2006 to 2011, U.S. cities paid more than $735 million for police misconduct cases.
Troy Riggs, former director of the Indianapolis Department of Public Safety (DPS) and now director of Public Safety Outreach at IU Public Policy Institute at IUPUI, said in the past he was allotted up to $250,000 a year to defend or settle cases in the cities he has worked.
“Some cities allow for funds to roll over, but usually the money is depleted by the end of the fiscal year — mostly due to the cost of defending the taxpayers against lawsuits,” Riggs said. “Then, if there is a settlement on a major case, governments have to find the funding within the existing budgets — usually the police department budget due to it being the largest.”
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Sgt. Kendale Adams confirmed to the Recorder that a line item in the city’s budget is dedicated to settlement funds. That fund is shared by all city agencies, including DPS.
One Indianapolis case settled for over six figures, Riggs said, and similar situations have a negative affect on police department’s operations budget. Funds from taxpayers are part of the city’s general tax.
Riggs said he believes the public is misinformed when it comes to police misconduct settlements. He believes settlements send poor messages to the public.
“When you’re in a court setting or simply talking to citizens, they think the government has tons of money, and they don’t realize most taxpayer money that comes in from taxes is spent every year. There isn’t this pile of money lying around for settlements,” Riggs said.
When viewing a case, officials determine the validity of the case to understand if the officer has acted appropriately or inappropriately. If appropriate, police department leaders take the case to court and fight on behalf of the city, police officers and taxpayers. If inappropriate, settlement conversations begin. Settlement resolution duration varies by case, but if working with the federal courts, a time restraint can be placed.
“Police departments get sued quite frequently and in most cases they win, but there have been times the government has decided when they look at the cost of the case and the cost of defending officers, to settle,” Riggs said. “In my previous positions, whether I was the chief of staff, chief of city police, assistant city manager or director of public safety, I did not want to settle those cases. I think that sends a message that’s not clear, because when they see a settlement they believe wrong doing has occurred.”
He adds, “If you think your department is wrong, you have the responsibility to make it right (through settlements). I know you can’t always make it right, but monetarily, it helps. When you feel like an officer has not done wrong, it’s on you as a leader to fight that in court.”
When it comes to determining settlement amounts, Riggs said the courts look at everything from lost wages to what settlements have been for similar situations in the nation. Once an amount has been determined, the plaintiff and the city come to an agreement through negotiations. A judge then signs off on the amount.
With a specific focus on Indianapolis, Riggs believes the city has settled too soon on cases with no validity.
Some community members also feel as if offending police officers receive no financial punishment after a settlement has been claimed. “Police Indemnification,” says individual police officers have paid over $171,000 for misconduct cases between 2006 and 2011.
Schwartz’s study finds, “Between 2006 and 2011, in 44 of the country’s largest jurisdictions, officers financially contributed to settlements and judgments in just .41 percent of the approximately 9,225 civil rights damages actions resolved in plaintiffs’ favor, and their contributions amounted to just .02 percent of the over $730 million spent by cities, counties and states in these cases. Officers did not pay a dime of the over $3.9 million awarded in punitive damages.”
Riggs noted many officers have been terminated or suspended due to their actions.
“When there is an incident and people feel as if something has been done wrong, there should be some sort of settlement,” said Riggs. “While I agree, I don’t believe people think beyond that.”
