The City of Keller has agreed to pay $ 200,000 to a man sprayed with pepper spray and was arrested after videotaping a police officer running over his son for making a wide right turn, the lawyer said. the father.
Marco Puente filed a lawsuit in federal court in Fort Worth last month against two Keller police officers for excessive force and illegal arrest during the Aug. 15 incident.
According to the officers’ camera images, Marco Puente’s son Dillon was arrested by Sgt. Blake Shimanek for making a wide right turn.
Dillon Puente’s father soon showed up on the scene in a separate car and began filming what happened across the street.
Then Shimanek ordered another officer, Ankit Tomer, to arrest the father and pepper-spray him. Tomer was also named in the lawsuit.
Both the father and son were taken to prison, but police supervisors quickly dropped the charges after looking at the case and Shimanek was demoted to an officer.
Keller City Council scheduled a special meeting on Tuesday to discuss a controversial police traffic stop and complaints of excessive force that have led to a federal lawsuit.
Scott Palmer, attorney for the Puentes, said on Sunday that both sides agreed to settle the lawsuit during a mediation session on Friday, when the city agreed to pay $ 200,000.
“The Puente family is delighted to have left this unfortunate and unnecessary situation behind,” Palmer and attorney James Roberts said in a statement. “This settlement will rightly compensate both Dillon and Marco.”
In the statement, Police Chief Brad Fortune was credited with acting quickly in “addressing the issues” in the case, but added, “it is disappointing that these officers are still employed by the Keller Police Department.”
Keller’s mayor, Armin Mizani, confirmed on Sunday that the mediation was taking place, but said he was waiting for the agreement to be signed by both parties.
The mayor declined to confirm that the settlement amount was $ 200,000, but said the city itself would be limited to paying a $ 5,000 deductible. The Texas Municipal League, which insures cities, will pay for the rest, he said.
“The city plans to share details as soon as everything is completed,” said Mizani.
A city spokeswoman also noted that the deal has not yet been finalized, but said, “The city is pleased that a brokered settlement agreement has been reached.”
The lawsuit alleged that the sergeant was targeted by the younger Puente because he was Spanish and mistakenly believed he had drugs in his car.