The Denver City Council voted unanimously last night to pay $80,000 to settle two excessive force lawsuits, saying they hope “a new day” for the police department is coming.

“We’ve had a downpour of police settlements lately, and I’m hoping there’s a drought soon,” Councilman Doug Linkhart said.

The settlements bring the total paid by the city for excessive force complaints to more than $1 million so far this year.

Jared Lunn, a volunteer Brighton firefighter, will receive $45,000 to settle a federal civil rights case.

Lunn said he was beaten after he approached an officer who was off-duty, but in uniform, at a LoDo bar in December 2009.

The officer, Eric Sellers, accused Lunn of being drunk and making a sarcastic comment. According to a report filed by Independent Monitor Richard Rosenthal, Sellers put Lunn in a chokehold, wrestled him to the ground, handcuffed and berated him.

Sellers was originally given a 45-day suspension, which was reduced to 40 days after he appealed to the Civil Service Commission.

The council also voted to pay $35,000 to Mark Ashford, who said he was beaten by two officers and had to be taken to the hospital following a March 2010 incident that occurred while he was walking his dogs near 20th and Little Raven streets.

Ashford saw a police officer pull someone over for running a stop sign, then approached the car window and offered to testify that the driver had stopped, according to his attorney.

The two officers were identified as John Diaz and Jeff Cook.

Diaz retired before the case was reviewed by the department. The department did not sustain the allegations of excessive force against Cook, and Rosenthal agreed the officer’s actions were reasonable.

Councilwoman Judy Montero said Monday night she hopes a new administration at city hall will “turn this trend around.”

“I’m looking forward to a new day,” she said.

Mayor-elect Michael Hancock was among the council members who voted in favor of the settlements.

Sara Burnett: 303-954-1661 or sburnett@denverpost.com