A man whose life sentence was overturned as a result of an investigation into corruption at the Tulsa Police Department has agreed to settle his lawsuit against the city of Tulsa for $50,000, attorneys confirmed on Friday.
Demario T. Harris, 33, filed the suit on Aug. 4, 2011. He had been convicted in Tulsa federal court in April 2005 on charges of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
He was sentenced in November 2005 to life in prison but was freed in October 2010. The order vacating his sentence said the prosecution had conceded that Harris’ “conviction was obtained in violation of the defendant’s due process rights.”
City of Tulsa Litigation Division manager Gerald Bender said Friday that the decision to settle the case was a “business decision” that was made after evaluating the lawsuit and what it would cost to defend it.
Bender said Mayor Dewey Bartlett has already “preapproved” the amount, although he said there are further steps, including seeking the City Council’s approval, that will occur later this month.
U.S. Magistrate Lane Wilson gave the parties until Aug. 30 to submit final dismissal papers pertaining to the proposed pact, which court documents indicate was reached after a July 16 settlement conference.
Harris attorney Stan Monroe issued a statement Friday saying that “in terms of the damages suffered by Mr. Harris,” the sum of $50,000 will not adequately compensate him.
”However,” Monroe added, ”since his charges arose from an arrest in December 2003, we realized that there may have been some difficulty proving that the city was aware of the misconduct of the officers involved at that time.
”There was certainly evidence uncovered that the city should have known, but proving actual knowledge of the pattern of misconduct wouldn’t have been easy in the context of a civil rights claim.
”Mr. Harris decided that he would rather compromise this case now, instead of continuing with protracted litigation.”
The allegations of corruption within the Police Department did not start to come to light until 2009.
At least 17 civil suits have been filed by people who claim that they were victimized by the sort of activity that was the subject of a grand jury probe into the Tulsa Police Department.
The investigation resulted in charges against six current or former Tulsa police officers and an ex-federal agent, as well as accusations of criminal behavior against five officers who were never charged.
Grand Jury
The city of Tulsa has had another victory in litigation spawned by the investigation of corruption in the Tulsa Police Department.
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