A prison inmate who claims he was unjustly shot by police after he robbed a cellphone store and was caught hiding in a clothes dryer has settled a lawsuit against the city of Hawthorne for $2 million.

Stanley Jordan was rendered a paraplegic in the shooting at about 9:25 p.m. Oct. 11, 2012, inside the laundry room of a Gardena apartment building, several blocks from the MetroPCS store he robbed in Hawthorne.

Jordan, convicted of robbery and resisting arrest in Los Angeles Superior Court, is now serving a prison term of more than six years.

The civil rights case against the Hawthorne Police Department was set to go to trial this month in federal court, but attorneys reached a settlement on Jan. 29. The City Council signed off on the agreement Thursday night.

City Attorney Russell Miyahira stressed that the payment to Jordan is not an admission of guilt. Los Angeles County sheriff’s and district attorney’s officials agreed with Hawthorne attorneys that Jordan was to blame for the incident. But, after more than a year of legal discovery that included expert witness depositions and sharing arguments that would be made before a jury, city officials decided to avoid a trial, Miyahira said.

Nationwide protests against the officer-involved deaths of Freddie Gray, Tamar Rice, Eric Garner, Michael Brown and others influenced the decision to settle, Miyahira said.

“Given the current climate created by a few law enforcement-based incidents occurring nationally, this settlement represents a compromise that, although significant, is less than a potential adverse jury verdict,” Miyahira said in a written statement.

Only $250,000 of the settlement will come from the city’s budget, while the rest will be paid by an insurance company.

Jordan was convicted in February 2013 of robbing the MetroPCS store at Rosecrans and Prairie avenues. In September 2014, he filed a federal lawsuit alleging officers violated his Fourth Amendment rights by unreasonably seizing him with deadly force from the laundry room in the 2900 block of West 141st Place.

In court documents, Jordan argued he was standing in the apartment complex laundry room — not in the dryer as police allege — when Hawthorne police Officer Matthew Manley “violently confronted” him.

“Without warning, (Manley) proceeded to assault and batter (Jordan),” the lawsuit states. “Jordan made no aggressive movements, no furtive gestures, and no physical movements which would suggest to a reasonable police officer that he was armed with any kind of weapon.”

In response to the suit, Hawthorne officials denied that Jordan was passively standing in a laundry room when Officer Manley found him. At the time of the shooting, Hawthorne and Gardena officers were searching for the robbery suspects. Officer Manley said he found Jordan hiding inside the dryer.

He was not armed but refused to be handcuffed, fought with Manley and reached for the officer’s gun, police said.

“(Jordan) refused to obey the officers’ commands to allow them to handcuff and search him (and) was combative with the officers,” according to court records. “Plaintiff was shot while fighting with Officer Manley, after he had attempted to grab the officer’s firearm during the struggle.”

Miyahira said that a police canine tracked Jordan to the dryer but, rather than surrender, Jordan “physically struck the police canine dog, shoved the canine handler, and then attempted to tackle an assisting officer. That is when the use of force occurred.”

But Jordan’s legal complaint argues Manley had no reason to shoot him in the back.

“Prior to and during the time in which he was shot in the back by Officer Manley, Officer Manley was not faced with any circumstances which would have led a reasonable police officer to believe that (Jordan) posed the risk of death, or serious bodily injury to any person,” court documents state. “Plaintiff suffered severe injuries as a result of this officer-involved shooting incident, including, but not limited to, permanent paralysis.”

Jordan, who lost the use of his legs, sought punitive damages and payments from the city for his medical care, attorney fees, general damages and further relief.

“He was placed in great fear for his life and physical well-being,” Jordan’s complaint states. He “has suffered and continues to suffer extreme and severe mental anguish, as well as great mental and physical pain and injury, has been required to employ physicians and surgeons to examine, treat, and care for him, and has incurred expenses for emergent medical services, treatment and care.”