PATERSON -- A court case involving a suspended police officer has ended after charges against him were finally dropped, but not before the cash-strapped city paid millions for a legal settlement, the officer's salary and other costs, NorthJersey.com reported Tuesday.

In 2007, Manuel Avila was accused of forcing a woman in custody to perform oral sex, resulting in his paid suspension. Avila has collected about $900,000 in salary since.

Avila was acquitted in 2010, but the following year the city agreed to award the woman $710,000 to settle a civil lawsuit. Avila will receive $85,000 in accrued leave time while the city also spent about $300,000 in legal fees, bringing the total paid by the city so far to about $2 million.

In the five years since the city settled with the woman, Avila still faced internal disciplinary charges, collecting a paycheck as they remained pending against him. After a failed attempt to fire him, the city agreed to let Avila retire. With more than 25 years on the force, Avila would qualify for full pension and benefits.

In an interview nearly a year ago, Domenick Stampone, the city's law director, said the proceedings involving Avila were nearly concluded. Asked recently by NorthJersey.com why the case dragged on for so long, Stampone said "The city seeks to hold its employees to the highest standards. We could not just ignore these serious allegations."

Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@PaulMilo2. Find NJ.com on Facebook.