The Nation - News from Oct. 1, 1985

Milwaukee will pay $600,000 under a settlement reached in a lawsuit by the family of a black man who died while in police custody for a rape it was later determined he did not commit. U.S. Magistrate Robert L. Bittner, who conducted talks between lawyers for the family of Ernest R. Lacy and the city, announced the settlement as jury selection in the lawsuit was about to begin. Lacy, 22, died in police custody on July 9, 1981, after he was brought in for questioning about a rape. The woman involved later identified another man as her attacker. The death led to demonstrations by pickets who criticized the police for failing to administer first aid to Lacy.