Yonkers considering $37,500 police brutality payment

Yonkers is considering a $37,500 civil rights payment to a man who allegedly incited a mob to attack two police officers in 2011.

The City Council is expected to vote Tuesday to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit filed in 2012 by Charles Wiltshire, now 24, who claimed he was punched and kicked by police officers in the face, chest, back and arms. Wiltshire also accused the officers of threatening to throw him off the roof of a building.

Yonkers police, however, had a different version of events when they arrested Wiltshire on suspicion of drug dealing in 2011. Police said officers Christopher Hutter and Richard DeVito were hospitalized after being assaulted by a mob of 10 to 12 people who attacked them while they were trying to arrest Wiltshire at 69 Hamilton Ave.

As the arrest unfolded, Wiltshire allegedly called out to his friends and relatives for help. One of the officers was hit on the head with a metal pipe; another suffered a chipped tooth from a kick in the mouth.

Wiltshire filed the lawsuit against the city, Hutter, DeVito and a third officer while imprisoned at the Greene Correctional Facility, where he served a sentence for second-degree assault. He was released from prison last year and is on parole until Sept. 24, 2017, according to the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision's website.

Yonkers spokeswoman Christina Gilmartin wrote in an email that the proposed settlement admits no wrongdoing by Yonkers police.

“Our internal investigation reveals that the use of force used by the officers to effectuate the arrest was reasonable and necessary due to the plaintiff’s actions," she wrote. "The settlement reflects the effect of attorney’s fee claims and awards in civil rights cases, which are often significant even if the judgment is nominal, and the substantial cost of defending the suit if it went to trial."

Wiltshire's attorneys didn't respond to requests for comment.

Twitter: @ErnieJourno