NEW YORK, May 14
(Reuters) - New York City has paid $360,000 to settle a case brought by two
attorneys who claim they were assaulted when they tried to come to the aid of a
man allegedly being beaten by police officers, according to lawyers involved in
the case.
Plaintiffs Michael and
Evelyn Warren announced the settlement outside the Brooklyn federal courthouse
on Monday morning, just as a trial in the 2008 civil lawsuit was scheduled to
begin. An attorney for the Warrens, Jonathan Moore, said the amount of the
settlement, which was reached Friday afternoon, "clearly represents an
understanding by the city that there was misconduct."
A spokeswoman for the New
York City Law Department, Connie Pankratz, confirmed the agreement and said the
$360,000 payment includes attorney's fees and costs for the Warrens.
Pankratz said the
settlement "was in the best interest of all parties." In response to
Moore's claim that the settlement was an acknowledgment of misconduct, she said
that the allegations in the lawsuit had not been proven.
The Warrens, a married
couple, are both practicing attorneys. Michael Warren represents defendants in
police misconduct and wrongful arrest lawsuits. Evelyn Warren also does civil
rights legal work.
On June 21, 2007, the
Warrens say they were driving through downtown Brooklyn when they spotted
several police officers pursuing a young black man. The man was caught and
handcuffed, and police began to beat him while the Warrens looked on from their
car, the complaint said.
The couple left their
vehicle, and asked the officers to stop hurting the man and take him to the
precinct, the complaint said. One of the officers allegedly told them to get
back in their car.
When one of the officers
noticed that the Warrens were taking down license plate numbers, he allegedly
went over to their car and repeatedly punched Michael Warren in the face before
dragging him out of the vehicle. The officer also allegedly punched Evelyn
Warren in the jaw, the complaint said.
EXTRAORDINARY STANDARD
The couple was arrested
and Michael Warren was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and
obstruction of governmental administration. Evelyn Warren was given a summons
for disorderly conduct. The charges remained pending for approximately one
year, until they were dropped by the Brooklyn District Attorney's office,
according to the complaint.
The Warrens filed a civil
complaint in 2008, alleging their Fourth Amendment rights had been violated and
seeking an unspecified amount in compensatory and punitive damages.
The lawsuit named as
defendants New York City, New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and five NYPD
officers.
In a motion for partial
summary judgment, the city argued that the Warrens had interfered with the
lawful arrest of a fleeing suspect, who later pleaded guilty to possession of
stolen property and a criminal substance. Their claims did not meet the
"extraordinary" standard required under state and federal law to
prove the prosecution had been malicious, or that their arrest had
intentionally inflicted emotional damage, the city argued.
In February, U.S.
District Judge Allyne Ross denied the summary judgment motion, sending the
four-year-old case to trial.
An NYPD spokesman did not
return a request for comment.
The case is Warren v.
City of New York, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, No.
08-3815.
For the Warrens: Jonathan
Moore and Elizabeth Logemann of Beldock Levine and Hoffmann.
For the defendants:
Arthur Larkin, Susan Scharfstein, Brian Ceballo, Caroline Chen, Kimberly
Conway, Steven Auletta and Virginia Nimick for the New York City Law
Department.
Reporting
by Jessica Dye