Dallas to Settle DPD Excessive Force Claims

The city of Dallas plans to approve nearly $1 million in settlements

The city of Dallas will pay out major money to two men who claim cops used excessive force and seriously injured them during two separate arrests.

Wednesday, the council approved nearly $1 million in settlements.  It’s the second and third case, just in the past month, with claims of Dallas police officers losing control.

Rodarick Lyles will receive $500,000 from the city for injuries he received during a 2011 arrest for a traffic warrant.  The money will come out of this year’s budget.  The arrest was caught on dash camera video and shows Lyles on the ground in handcuffs.  Officer Quaitemes Williams doused Lyles with pepper spray, kicked him in the face, and allegedly called him fat and racial slurs.

His attorney says the damage that’s been done is both physical and emotional.  “Long after the bruises, and the rotator cuff, and the knee arthroscopy have healed, you’re still going to remember the guy that stood over you with a badge and made you feel less than human,” says attorney Geoff Henley.

The officer was fired and charged, but it’s not enough for Lyles and his family.

“They kept him on the ground for I don't know how many minutes. They talked bad to him. They did him like a dog. So I want to know, how would you feel if they done your son like that,” says Ella Flowers, Lyles’ mother.

“The response can't be when a person is defenseless and in handcuffs to kick a person in the head or to mace a person, we have to be more professional and disciplined than that,” says Police Chief David Brown.

The other settlement on the agenda is with Lavell Fairbanks.  His attorney says officers beat him so badly with a flashlight in 2010, that Fairbanks now has a traumatic brain injury.

Dallas already paid out $500,000 last month to Andrew Collins.  He was repeatedly hit by DPD officers during a traffic stop.

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