Tiyon Williams, whose facial wounds following an encounter with Baltimore police went viral in 2012 and led to short-lived charges against a Western District police officer, will be paid $150,000 tomorrow in return for dropping his lawsuit against three officers and the City of Baltimore.

The Board of Estimates has agreed to pay all court fees stemming from William’s lawsuit that had accused two police officers, Robert W. Mitchell and Maurice Wyatt, and one lieutenant, Joel Fried, of beating him up on May 19, 2012 near his home on North Mount Street.

As part of the settlement, Williams and his lawyer have agreed not to discuss the case with media outlets, such as The Brew, or on social media.

According to a narrative provided by the city, Williams was standing and talking with friends near a neighborhood store when officers approached and arrested one of the men.

Williams said he got scared and started running. Officer Ward chased after him.

Williams said he then surrendered and put his arms up, but was punched, stomped and thrown to the ground by the officers, with his head striking a cement sidewalk.

After the alleged assault, the police determined that he had committed no crime – in fact, he had no criminal record – and called on a city ambulance to take him to a hospital for treatment of a broken nose and other cuts and lacerations.

Shortly after the incident, Williams gave his account of the incident to Joy Lepola at Fox 45 News. “I ran because my homeboy got slammed on his neck. Anybody else would do the same,” he told her, showing his visible scars and stitched-up nose.

The piece was picked up by WorldStarHipHop, a popular website where it was viewed over 150,000 times in a matter of days.

Assault Charge Dropped

In May 2013, Officer Mitchell was charged by State’s Attorney Gregg Bernstein with second-degree assault and misconduct in office for beating Williams.

Calling the officer’s actions “reprehensible,” then-Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts issued a press release saying, “I promise we will continue to aggressively target those who sacrilege the good men and women of this department and the sacred privilege of serving our community.”

Seven months later, prosecutors dropped the charges, saying new information from witnesses called into question Mitchell’s involvement in the incident.

Williams then filed a civil suit in Baltimore Circuit Court charging Mitchell and three other officers with battery, false arrest, illegal imprisonment and violations of the Maryland Declaration of Rights. (One of the officers was subsequently dropped from the suit.)

The $150,000 settlement was hammered out between Williams’ lawyer and the city law department last March and will be presented to the Board of Estimates tomorrow for payment “because of conflicting factual issues, objective injuries and given the uncertainties and unpredictability of jury verdicts.”