MOORHEAD -- A man who filed a federal lawsuit claiming a Moorhead police officer punched him in the testicles has settled his claim against the city of Moorhead for $12,000.

Wording in the settlement says the settlement was a “compromise of a vigorously disputed claim” and the payment is not to be construed as an admission of liability by the city.

The case stemmed from an incident in February 2014 when Marcus Hemsworth and another man were stopped for a traffic violation as the pair drove through Moorhead.

The officer making the stop, Toby Krone, learned there was a warrant for Hemsworth’s arrest and received backup from another officer, Brandon Desautel.

Hemsworth claimed in his lawsuit that while he was being arrested, officer Krone punched him three times in the testicles while Hemsworth was handcuffed.

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Hemsworth also claimed in his suit that Desautel looked on during the incident and did not intervene.

Squad car video of the incident showed police pulling over a vehicle and arresting Hemsworth.

In the video, Hemsworth is handcuffed and escorted to the side of a police car, where he disappears from the camera’s view.

An officer is heard repeatedly yelling at Hemsworth to “shut up,” while Hemsworth says the officer is hurting him.

Then, thuds can be heard and Hemsworth can be heard screaming.

Hemsworth is then heard to say: “You have me handcuffed and you just hit me in my, my testicles, sir.”

When Hemsworth was placed in the police car, he said, “You will be getting sued.”

After the arrest, Hemsworth was charged in Clay County District Court with two felonies related to drugs police found in the car. Hemsworth pleaded guilty to one of the charges and was sentenced to 58 months.

As a result of the civil lawsuit settlement, Hemsworth’s case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning the case was closed permanently.

Moorhead Police Chief David Ebinger said no disciplinary action was taken against the two officers who were named as defendants in the suit along with the city, and he said the officers were voluntarily dismissed as defendants in the case.

Ebinger explained the city’s reasons for settling the case this way: “The City of Moorhead and its insurer, the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust, determined that settlement of the claims against the city for a nominal amount of money would avoid exposure to much more in attorneys’ fees and costs associated with litigating cases like this.”