The city of St. Paul has agreed to settle for $237,500 the lawsuit of a man who alleges he was seriously injured after a St. Paul police officer used a Taser on him on stairs, causing him to fall, and another officer smashed his boot into his face.

The settlement, reached Thursday, April 25, awaits city council approval May 15.

James Lavance Newbill, 32, who has since legally changed his name to Ras Yirehmiel Tafari, filed the federal lawsuit in August.

Police said they saw a suspected drug deal about to occur in August 2010 near a church behind the state Capitol. Marijuana later was found in Tafari’s bag.

Tafari suddenly ran, according to a criminal complaint. Tafari pleaded guilty to possession of a small amount of marijuana; a charge of fleeing police was dismissed.

Tafari said in his lawsuit that he feared for his safety after officers rushed at him without giving him commands or instructions, and he ran up the church’s stairs. After Tafari put his hands up to surrender, officer Paul Cottingham tased him, and officer Craig Rhode knocked him out with his boot, the lawsuit said.

Tafari had broken vertebrae in his neck, a broken jaw, broken teeth and his “mouth was split open horizontally,” along with cuts and bruises to his head, neck and upper body, the lawsuit said.

As part of the settlement, the officers no longer will be defendants; only the city of St. Paul will be named as a defendant.

“We believe that the settlement is appropriate and reasonable given the cost and risks of further litigation,” St. Paul City Attorney Sara Grewing said. “He was alleging damages in excess of $750,000.”

Rhode has been a St. Paul police officer since 1997 and Cottingham since 2006.

Cottingham previously was a Minneapolis officer; he was the subject of a lawsuit alleging excessive force in the 1990s that Minneapolis settled for $500,000. Minneapolis terminated him in 1995 for two cases unrelated to the lawsuit, according to news articles from the time. He worked for the Leech Lake tribal police force before he was hired in St. Paul.

Mara H. Gottfried can be reached at 651-228-5262. Follow her at twitter.com/MaraGottfried or twitter.com/ppUsualSuspects.