Denver City Council approved a $60,000 payment divided between two plaintiffs and their attorneys Monday in a lawsuit with the Denver Police Department alleging police misconduct.

The council adopted the resolution unanimously. Councilmen Albus Brooks and Chris Herndon were not in attendance.

Ashford Wortham and Cornelius Campbell filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in February 2011. The men, both black, alleged that three police officers — Sgt. Perry Speelman and officers Jesse Campion and Tab Davis — made a racially motivated traffic stop on Feb. 13, 2009 .

The lawsuit alleges that police pulled Wortham over about11 p.m. while Campbell ate dinner in the passenger seat. They “were subjected to a barrage of blatantly racist comments, forcibly removed from their car, patted down without reasonable suspicion, and forced to sit without proper clothing on the sidewalk for 45 minutes,” according to the lawsuit.

Wortham was cited with failure to wear a seat belt, sign his insurance/registration and running a red light. Denver County Judge Aileen Ortiz-White ruled that the officers lacked probable cause for the stop and dismissed the charges.

According to the lawsuit, Ortiz-White said the “police conduct was extreme, profane and racially motivated.”

The payout gives $21,100 to Wortham, $13,900 to Campbell and $25,000 to attorney Killmer, Lane & Newman, LLP .

Monday marked the first meeting Councilwoman Mary Beth Susman presided over as council president — unanimously elected by the city council members at the beginning of the meeting.

Tegan Hanlon: 303-954-1729, thanlon@denverpost.com