Francis Jared Pusok, whose beating by 10 San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies during his April 9 arrest in Apple Valley was captured on videotape, will receive $650,000 from the county in an agreement reached at what a legal expert said was “almost unheard of” speed.

The Board of Supervisors approved the settlement in a closed session during the board meeting Tuesday. Pusok and his attorneys, Jim Terrell and Sharon J. Brunner, signed the settlement on Friday.

The terms of the settlement include a provision that the county does not acknowledge any wrongdoing.

Agreements such as Tuesday’s typically take years of legal wrangling. But Pusok had not even filed a claim against the county when he signed his name to the four-page document.

“I can’t believe the case is already settled,” said Charles Rose, who is chairman and professor for excellence in trial advocacy at Stetson University’s College of Law in Gulfport, Fla. “Civil cases normally take an extended period of time with a great deal of argument, not only over liability, but also damages. Not even two weeks, and you’ve got a $650,000 settlement. I would go so far as to say it is almost unheard of.”

County spokesman David Wert said a rapid settlement made sense because the county’s legal fees and court costs could have exceeded $650,000 before any settlement or judgment was paid.

“In this particular case, there was a potential plaintiff who came to the county seeking a settlement much earlier than what usually occurs, and the two sides quickly reached an agreement each thought was fair in the long run,” Wert said.

Pusok’s attorneys did not return a message seeking comment.

What made this case different, Rose said, is that both sides likely were highly motivated to settle.

In the county’s case, there is little doubt about whether the deputies were at fault, Rose said.

Pusok had been a suspect in a theft investigation. When deputies arrived to serve a search warrant in an unrelated case, he fled, triggering a police chase. Eventually Pusok abandoned a car and stole a horse, officials said. When deputies caught up with Pusok, footage from a KNBC news helicopter overhead appeared to show them punching and kicking him even after he had surrendered.

Sheriff John McMahon said that the deputies’ actions appeared “excessive.”

The incident placed San Bernardino County instantly and unwillingly into the increasing national debate on use of force by law enforcement.

“It’s very clear that law enforcement used excessive force,” Rose said. “From the county’s perspective, (they) want to make it go away and get it out of the news.”

Meanwhile, Pusok, 30, is living with his girlfriend in her mother’s house. He has been in and out of jail after being arrested three times on suspicion of evading arrest. He is a suspect in an April 6 burglary, a sheriff’s official said. Pusok has not been charged in either of the April cases.

“Think of it from the defendant’s perspective,” Rose said. “He does not appear to have unlimited financial means. This sort of settlement money will assist him in providing for his criminal defense.”

Rose said Pusok could have held out for more than $1 million, but “As his lawyer, you weigh competing interests. It makes sense to settle it for $650,000 now because you don’t know what’s coming down the pike.”

The settlement will not affect the Sheriff’s Department’s criminal and internal investigations into the actions of the deputies, or the criminal case against Pusok, Wert said. FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said the settlement wouldn’t halt that agency’s civil rights violation criminal investigation.

McMahon supports the rapid resolution of the potential litigation against the county, spokeswoman Cindy Bachman said.