Police misconduct lawsuits: Milwaukee pays another $375,000 to settle illegal strip, body cavity search claims

Ashley Luthern | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Milwaukee Common Council quietly approved another series of settlements related to illegal body and cavity searches performed by Milwaukee police — pushing the cost of police misconduct lawsuits since 2015 to roughly $22 million.

The city is self-insured, meaning taxpayers bear the costs of any settlement.

The newly approved $375,000 settlement would end eight separate federal lawsuits, with $173,333 going into a trust account and the remainder covering attorneys' fees and court costs.

The Common Council approved the settlement without any debate Wednesday, sending it to Mayor Tom Barrett for review and final approval.

Barrett is expected to finalize his decision by June 8, according to a spokesman for the mayor's office.

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The settlement is the latest in a series of high-profile police misconduct lawsuits — and the costs likely will keep rising.

Last fall, a Journal Sentinel analysis found the city has paid at least $21.4 million since 2015, including interest paid on borrowing and fees to cover outside attorneys.

Since then, city officials signed off on a $150,000 settlement related to an illegal stop and search, as well as the additional $375,000.

The total does not include an estimated $6 million proposed settlement in a class-action stop-and-frisk lawsuit brought by the ACLU of Wisconsin.

The bulk of that amount would pay a consultant to monitor a consent decree outlining reforms to the Police Department's policies and practices. No individual plaintiff is set to receive money as part of that settlement.

Although city officials have balked at the rising cost — the city attorney's office originally pegged that settlement at $1.9 million — the negotiations are continuing, according to federal court records.

Representatives for the ACLU and the city are expected to have another phone conference on the matter Wednesday.

A lawsuit related to the 2011 in-custody death of Derek Williams also remains pending and is before the federal 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.

In addition, Milwaukee Bucks player Sterling Brown has said he intends to file a civil rights lawsuit over his January arrest and tasing by Milwaukee police.