KMPH Fox 26 Central San Joaquin Valley News Source in Fresno, California Entertainment, News, Sports and Weather | Police Lawsuits Cost City Millions of Dollars

Police Lawsuits Cost City Millions of Dollars

By: Nicole Garcia and Kyra J. Neyland

Fresno, Ca. - The recent wave of controversies surrounding the Fresno Police Department has spurred at least one person to file a lawsuit against the department and city, alleging excessive force and police misconduct.

It's a claim the city of Fresno has fought, and continues to fight in court. Whether the city wins or loses, the cost of fighting the lawsuits adds up.

And with more than two dozen lawsuits currently winding their way through federal court, claims against the Fresno Police Department, such as excessive force, could continue to cost taxpayers millions of dollars.

One incident has already cost the city nearly $2 million.

On March 5, 2005 - Fresno police were called to a house in Southeast Fresno to break up a fight at a family party.

More than a dozen people were arrested and nearly that many people filed lawsuits against the city and Fresno police, claiming excessive force.

"He approached my husband with his baton raised and said 'I said get down,' and on down he proceeded to hit him.  My husband didn't even have time to react," said Heather Rendon, who witnessed the incident.

And the city may have to dig deeper into their pockets, as another class-action lawsuit regarding the same incident is winding its way through federal court.

David Rendon was asking millions of dollars, but settled for $50,000.

"To me it was more like a racial profiling thing because of the area, we're all Hispanics, and the way we were treated that night, we weren't treated as citizens, we were treated as criminals," said Rendon of the incident.

Now an amateur video showing the violent arrest of a homeless man by Fresno police officers has sparked the most recent lawsuit against police for the same claims.

Over the last decade, about 180 lawsuits have been filed against the Fresno Police Department.

City records show almost half of them were dismissed by a judge. Right now the city is fighting about 27 lawsuits against the police department.

Compared to another city similar in population and size, it seems to be on par.

"At any given time our statistics indicate there are probably 30 open police lawsuits alleging police misconduct," said Bob Shannon, Long Beach's City Attorney.

Shannon says over the last decade, Long Beach has paid out more than $2.6 million in settlements and judgments over claims of police misconduct.

Since 1997, Fresno has settled about 34 claims concerning the police department and they have paid out about $5.7 million in settlements and judgments.

Of that, nearly $2.8 million were paid out to settle civil rights violation lawsuits, such as excessive force and false arrest.

But several of those who've filed lawsuits against the police department were not just asking for monetary compensation.

Many have also sued to force changes within the police department.

"What happens is there has to be some crisis that causes a number of changes to take place that in my opinion, the most significant changes are with training... raising the level of training, making sure officers are getting retrained after they leave the academy," said Shannon.

Some Fresno officials believe an independent police auditor would reduce the number of excessive force and police misconduct lawsuits, and possibly save the city money.

But Long Beach city attorney Bob Shannon says the creation of a police oversight agency in that city did not contribute to the decrease of police lawsuits.

Rather, he says their oversight agency has helped to build public trust and confidence in the city's government.