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PolitiFact Wisconsin: City paid out $22 million to settle Milwaukee police lawsuits

Posted at 6:11 PM, May 25, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-25 19:11:25-04

Sterling Brown is expected to file a civil rights lawsuit raising the possibility of another high profile payout for alleged police conduct.

PolitiFact Wisconsin looks at a claim that says the city has already paid about $22 million to settle police misconduct lawsuits.

Before Milwaukee Police released this video of Sterling Brown being tased and arrested, Chief Alfonso Morales apologized for what happened.

Three officers have already been disciplined and suspended without pay.

Pro-police Alderman Bob Donovan made this claim after the video was released.

"Donovan says the City of Milwaukee has paid out more than $22 million in police misconduct cases since 2015," said Tom Kertscher with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

PolitiFact Wisconsin listed the top four Milwaukee Police misconduct payouts. They include a wrongful homicide conviction, strip-searches of African Americans, a woman raped by an officer and the fatal shooting of Dontre Hamilton.

"The payments Donovan refers to are made by the city to people who have filed legal actions based on the way they were treated by police," said Kertscher.

They include cases as serious as the Dontre Hamilton fatal shooting in Red Arrow Park.

PolitiFact Wisconsin says a stop and frisk lawsuit is still pending.

"If you include another case that's pending but not finalized then the total would be more than $22 million," said Kertscher.

PolitiFact Wisconsin rated Donovan's statement Mostly True.