Approved as to Form And Legality
_______________________
City Attorney’s Office
OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL
RESOLUTION NO. ______________ C.M.S.
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING AND DIRECTING THE CITY
ATTORNEY TO COMPROMISE AND SETTLE THE CLAIM OF
LINDSEY MORRIS IN THE LAWSUIT FILED ON BEHALF OF ANTI
POLICE-TERROR PROJECT, COMMUNITY READY CORPS, SEAN
CANADAY, MICHAEL COHEN, MICHAEL COOPER, ANDREA
COSTANZO, JOHNATHAN FARMER, LINDSEY FILOWITZ, DANIELLE
GAITO, KATIE JOHNSON, BRYANNA KELLY, JENNIFER LI, IAN
MCDONNELL, MELISSA MIYARA, LINDSEY MORRIS, LEILA
MOTTLEY, NIKO NADA, AZIZE NGO, NICOLE PULLER, MARIA
RAMIREZ, AKIL RILEY, AARON ROGACHEVSKY, TARA ROSE,
ASHWIN RUPAN, DANIEL SANCHEZ, CHRISTINA STEWART, TAYAH
STEWART, KATHERINE SUGRUE, CELESTE WONG, AND QIAOCHU
ZHANG; ON BEHALF OF THEMSELVES AND SIMILARLY SITUATED
INDIVIDUALS V. CITY OF OAKLAND, OPD POLICE CHIEF SUSAN E.
MANHEIMER, OPD SERGEANT PATRICK GONZALES, OPD OFFICER
MAXWELL D’ORSO AND OPD OFFICER CASEY FOUGHT, UNITED
STATES DISTRICT COURT CASE NO. 4:20 -CV-03866-JCS, CITY ATTORNEY FILE NO. X05141 FOR THE SUM OF ONE HUNDRED
NINETY-NINE THOUSAND DOLLARS AND NO CENTS ($199,000.00), ARISING FROM THE OAKLAND POLICE DEPARTMENT’S RESPONSE
TO DEMONSTRATIONS IN OAKLAND ON MAY 29, 2020. (POLICE
DEPARTMENT – CROWD CONTROL)
WHEREAS, following the murder of George Floyd there were large demonstrations in the City of Oakland on May 29, 2020 , during which several persons threw objects at Oakland Police Department officers; and
WHEREAS, Oakland Police Department officers deployed tear gas in the area of 7th Street and Broadway; and
WHEREAS, Plaintiff Lindsey Morris alleges they suffered physical injuries and injuries to their civil rights, including a fractured ankle, when a crowd ran in response to the deployment of tear gas, causing Morris to fall and be stepped upon; and
WHEREAS, Morris and other plaintiffs filed Anti Police-Terror Project, et al. v. City of Oakland, et al., U.S. District Court, Northern District of California Case No. 4:20-CV-03866-JCS against the City of Oakland , former Interim Chief of Police Susan Manheimer, Officer Maxwell D’Orso, and Officer Casey Fought, alleging violation of Plaintiffs’ right to free speech under the First Amendment, excessive force and false arrest in violation of the Fourth Amendment, violation
2 of the right to substantive due process under the Fourteenth Amendment, violation of the Bane Act (which provides protection from interference with the exercise of constitutional or civil rights ), and common law claims for assault and battery, false arrest, and negligence; and
WHEREAS, Morris’s claims for injunctive relief, attorneys’ fees, and costs were previously resolved through settlement, along with the damages claims of 25 of the 27 individual plaintiffs; and
WHEREAS, without admitting fault or wrongdoing, the City has determined to compromise the claim of Morris in the amount of One Hundred Ninety -Nine Thousand Dollars and No Cents ($199,000.00); now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED: That the City Attorney is authorized and directed to compromise and settle the claims of Plaintiff Lindsey Morris in the amount of One Hundred Ninety -Nine Thousand Dollars and No Cents ($199,000.00); and be it
FURTHER RESOLVED: That the City Attorney is further authorized and directed to take whatever steps as may be necessary to effect said settlement.
IN COUNCIL, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA,
PASSED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES - FIFE, GALLO, JENKINS, KALB, KAPLAN, RAMACHANDRAN, REID, AND
PRESIDENT FORTUNATO BAS
NOES –
ABSENT –
ABSTENTION –
ATTEST:
ASHA REED
City Clerk and Clerk of the Council of the
City of Oakland, California
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