LOS ANGELES : City to Settle Motorist’s Brutality Suit for $399,000

The city of Los Angeles has agreed to pay a motorist $399,000 to settle a brutality lawsuit in which a jury found that Los Angeles Police officers violated the man’s constitutional rights.

Bruce Hassell, who ran a red light on the evening of Jan. 28, 1990, and attempted to evade officers during a pursuit, was struck in the head by an officer’s baton when he was finally pulled over. Last January, a jury found that the altercation exacerbated Hassell’s glaucoma and awarded him $346,500 in compensatory and punitive damages. The settlement approved by the City Council will save the city treasury an additional $100,000 in attorney’s fees and other costs, officials said.