LOS ANGELES : Council Agrees to Pay Legal Fees in Brutality Suit
The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday approved paying $378,175 in legal fees to a civil rights attorney who won a police brutality lawsuit against former Police Chief Daryl F. Gates and nine officers.
A federal judge two weeks ago ordered payment of the award to Stephen Yagman and his law partners. On Tuesday, the City Council, which is required to pay the money by Sept. 16, agreed to the settlement.
“Nobody liked it, but we didn’t have any real options,” said Councilman Hal Bernson. “So we just held our noses.”
The payment will be Yagman’s fee for winning a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Police Department’s Special Investigations Section for its handling of a Feb. 12, 1990, incident in which nine SIS officers shot and killed three robbers and wounded a fourth as they left a McDonald’s in Sunland.
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