A $750,000 proposed settlement in a police misconduct lawsuit brought by former Milwaukee Bucks player Sterling Brown gained approval of the Milwaukee Common Council Tuesday, nearly three years after the lawsuit was filed.
For Brown, the case s conclusion comes with an optimism that it can be used to help save lives.
He sees an opportunity to continue working on improving the relationship between police and the justice system, and the wider community. And, he said, the settlement provides a framework for the kinds of policies that could be implemented in other communities across the nation and he urged others to continue pushing for change.
A Milwaukee man is seeking $12 million from the city for the dozen years he was incarcerated for a 2008 homicide before his conviction was vacated last year.
Ladarius Marshall was 16 when he was charged in Milwaukee County Circuit Court in the fatal shooting of Lavare Gould, 19, in the 2600 block of North 37th Street. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison followed by 10 years of extended supervision.
He is seeking $1 million for each year he was held.
Marshall was wrongfully convicted after Milwaukee police pressured him to confess to the homicide, including by ignoring his invocation of his constitutional right to remain silent and falsely telling him that his grandmother would not verify his alibi, according to a notice of claim Marshall s attorney filed with the city. The notice is usually the precursor to a lawsuit filed against a local government.
Ald. Michael Murphy suggested some of the turnover might be tied to recent harassment complaints made against City Attorney Tearman Spencer by female staffers.