Comment by ummonk
4 years ago
The criteria for such a civil suit is whether the defendants' civil rights were violated, not whether the defendants are guilty.
And cities often settle lawsuits regardless of guilt to avoid the costs of going to trial as well as the risks of public backlash. Notably in this specific case, the decision to settle was a political decision after DeBlasio was elected mayor.
The City of New York is very wealthy, but you don't get almost $10 million for having your civil rights violated!
I assure you, if that was the case, there would be a lot more multi-millionaires in NYC because the local police play it pretty fast 'n loose with the civil rights of citizens.
And again, the City didn't hand over forty-million to get rid of a nuisance lawsuit. They have lawyers on staff -- it would probably cost under a million dollars for the city to go to trial.