Ernie Garcia

Rockland/Westchester Journal News

YONKERS - The family of a man who died during an illegal Yonkers Police raid will receive an $82,500 settlement.

The Yonkers City Council voted Tuesday night to approve a settlement for the survivors of Dario Francisco Tena, 49, who died after falling out of a top-floor window at 141 School St. on March 21, 2014 during a drug raid.

Tena's survivors filed a $20 million federal lawsuit in 2015 accusing the Yonkers Police of excessive force, conspiracy and flawed supervision, among other allegations.

The botched raid led to perjury and official misconduct charges against Officer Neil Vera and Detective Christian Koch — and the end of their law enforcement careers — because they lied in getting the search warrant.

MYSTERY: How did Dario Tena die?

LAWSUIT: Tena survivors sue Yonkers for $20 million

FIRED: Yonkers cop loses job over botched raid

Michael Curti, the city's corporation counsel, said most of the claims by Tena's relatives in their lawsuit were dismissed by the court. Curti said the city admitted no wrongdoing in the matter.

"The proposed settlement is a minuscule fraction of the original demand in this case ... and reflects the city’s interest in resolving this lawsuit without incurring the expense of trial, appeals, or potential exposure to attorney’s fee claims," Curti wrote in an email. "Even if the city obtained a (favorable) verdict, the estimated cost of a trial and appeals alone would be more than the final agreed upon settlement."

On the day Tena died, eight cops crowded into the narrow landing outside Apt. 3 where Tena lived to execute a search warrant targeting a suspected drug dealer. Within weeks, the lies two of the officers had told to get the warrant were uncovered by Internal Affairs.

After Tena's death, Yonkers Police Commissioner Charles Gardner said that a thorough probe conducted by his department and the District Attorney's Office had determined that "no evidence was uncovered that would suggest any wrongdoing in relation to Mr. Tena's death."

Gardner also said there was no indication that Tena went out the window "other than by his own accord."

Staff writer Jonathan Bandler contributed to this report.

Twitter: @ErnieJourno

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