Rochester offers $60,000 to settle assault lawsuit against police

A tentative settlement has been reached in a federal lawsuit accusing Rochester police of assaulting a 13-year-old boy.

The parents of the boy, who is not named in the lawsuit, filed the complaint in July 2019.

The suit claims that officers knocked the boy unconscious after he was following their orders directing the boy and others in a group of young people to disperse from an area outside a store at the corner of Clifford Avenue and Coleman Terrace.

As a result of the alleged assault the boy suffered a broken nose and cuts to his lip, face, and ankle, according to court documents.

On June 27, Patrick Beath, deputy corporation counsel for the city of Rochester, sent a letter to U.S. District Court Chief Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford stating that a settlement in principle had been reached. According to documents filed electronically on Sunday, city officials have offered $60,000 to settle the case.

The boy and his parents agreed that the total settlement offer was “reasonable in light of the facts and circumstances of this case and the inherent risk of going to trial,” according to an affidavit filed Sunday by the plaintiffs.

“In view of the injuries sustained … and his recovery therefrom, and taking into account all issues surrounding the claim, I believe the amount offered is fair and reasonable under the circumstances,” the boy’s mother wrote in an affidavit.

The family is being represented by attorneys Fares A. Rumi and Matthew A. Albert, both of Genesee County.

Under the terms of the settlement, the attorneys will get a total of $20,000, while $40,000 will be placed in an interest-earning bank account which the boy cannot access until he is 18.

The plaintiff’s attorneys have filed a motion seeking Wolford’s approval of the settlement. Wolford ordered the plaintiff to submit relevant “records or hospital reports” for her review as part of an effort to protect the interests of the minor boy.

According to court papers, the boy, his sister, and a small group of friends were congregating outside the store when police arrived and ordered them to leave.

A bottle was thrown at the police by someone in the group. The crowd ran away from the scene. Eventually the police caught up with the boy who stopped running and put his hands up.

“The next thing (the boy recalled) is waking up from a state of unconsciousness,” according to court papers.

Police claim the boy, who was 5-foot-3 and 110 pounds, raised his hands in a “fighting stance” before an officer punched him in the face.

The officer did not have his body-worn camera turned on at the time of the incident, a violation of police department policy.

An internal police department investigation cleared the officer “of using unlawful force,” according to court papers.

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