A Vallejo Police sergeant goes through paperwork in his patrol car on May 7, 2008 in Vallejo. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

A repairman who was left covered in blood after being beaten and choked by Vallejo police will receive $750,000 from the city, it was announced Friday.

The city of San Francisco Bay Area agreed Thursday to settle a civil rights lawsuit filed by Carl Edwards over the 2017 incident, which was recorded by a witness and a police officer's body camera.

The lawsuit named the city, three police officers and a former officer.

An email seeking comment from the city after business hours Friday was not immediately returned.

Edwards was repairing his fence on July 30, 2017, when he was grabbed and tackled by officers, repeatedly punched in the head, hit in the knee and twice placed in a now-banned neck position that caused him to briefly pass out, they say said in a statement from Edward's attorney, Michael Haddad.

Edwards suffered a broken nose and a shoulder injury.

“I couldn't believe it when I was suddenly suffocated,” Edwards, 53, told the San Francisco Chronicle. “When I heard more sirens going off, I thought, 'Thank God these guys are going to tell these guys to back off.' And they just jumped in.”

A neighbor had called the police because a man was using a slingshot to shoot stones at her two boys. But arriving police learned that Edwards was not the man and that his clothing and description did not match those of the suspect, his attorney's statement said.

Edwards was charged with resisting arrest and other crimes. But after 14 months, the charges were dismissed by the Solano County district attorney for lack of evidence, the Chronicle said.

Edwards told the newspaper that he planned to leave town soon.

“I'm moving. I have to get out of here,” he said. “I'm gone.”

Last month, the Vallejo City Council announced a public safety emergency declaration, allowing staff to bypass normal channels to enforce police reforms. A more comprehensive reform proposal was also adopted.

The city of 120,000 residents is facing a “crisis of legitimacy and trust” that requires emergency measures, city spokeswoman Christina Lee said before the meeting.

Police are facing increasing criticism and financial liability over shootings and officer misconduct. Two dozen federal civil rights cases and more than a dozen damages suits are pending, which could cost the city $50 million as well as higher insurance premiums, Lee said.

In September, Vallejo agreed to pay $5.7 million to the family of a man who was shot by a police officer after being stopped for a minor traffic violation. In June, 22-year-old Sean Monterrosa was shot and killed by an officer who thought he had a gun when he didn't.

Earlier this year, the police chief announced he was launching an independent investigation after two people in the department said officers bent their badges to mark line-of-duty killings.

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A handyman who was left bloodied after he was beaten and choked by Vallejo police will receive $750,000 from the city, it was announced Friday.

The San Francisco Bay Area city agreed Thursday to settle a civil rights lawsuit filed by Carl Edwards over the 2017 incident, which was recorded by a witness and by a police officer’s body camera.

The lawsuit named the city, three police officers and a former officer.

An email seeking comment from the city after hours Friday wasn’t immediately returned.

Edwards was fixing his fence on July 30, 2017, when he was grabbed and tackled by officers, punched repeatedly in the head, kneed and twice placed in a now-banned neck hold that caused him to briefly pass out, said a statement from his attorney, Michael Haddad.

Edwards suffered a broken nose and a shoulder injury.

“I couldn’t believe it when all of a sudden I was being choked,” Edwards, 53, told the San Francisco Chronicle. “When I heard more sirens coming, I thought, ‘Thank God, these guys are going to tell these guys to back off.’ And they just jumped in.”

A neighbor had called the police about a man shooting rocks with a slingshot at her two boys. But arriving police were told Edwards wasn’t the man and his clothing and description didn’t match those of the suspect, said his lawyer’s statement.

Edwards was charged with resisting arrest and other criminal counts. But after 14 months, the charges were dismissed by the Solano County district attorney for lack of evidence, the Chronicle said.

Edwards told the newspaper that he plans to leave the city soon.

“I’m moving. I gotta get out of here,” he said. “I’m gone.”

Last month, Vallejo’s City Council proclaimed a public safety emergency declaration allowing staff to bypass normal channels to push through police reforms. It also passed a broader reform proposal.

The city of 120,000 people faces “a crisis of legitimacy and trust” that demands emergency action, city spokeswoman Christina Lee said before the meeting.

Police face mounting criticism and fiscal liability over shootings and misconduct by officers. Two dozen federal civil rights cases and more than a dozen tort claims are pending that could cost the city $50 million as well as higher insurance premiums, Lee said.

In September, Vallejo agreed to pay $5.7 million to the family of a man who was shot and killed by an officer after he was pulled over for a minor traffic infraction. In June, 22-year-old Sean Monterrosa was shot and killed by the officer who thought he had a gun when he did not.

Earlier this year, the police chief announced he was launching an independent investigation after two people in the department said officers had their badges bent to mark on-duty killings.

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The post Vallejo to pay $750,000 to finish lawsuit over handyman crushed bloody, choked by police appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

A craftsman who was left bloody after being beaten and suffocated by police in Vallejo will receive $ 750,000 from the city, it was announced Friday.

The city of San Francisco Bay Area agreed on Thursday to settle a civil rights lawsuit filed by Carl Edwards over the 2017 incident, which was taped by a witness and a police officer’s body camera.

The lawsuit named the city, three police officers, and a former officer.

An email looking for comment from the city by hours on Friday was not immediately returned.

Edwards repaired his fence on July 30, 2017 when he was grabbed and tackled by police officers, repeatedly hit in the head, kneeled and placed twice in a now-banned neck grip that briefly passed out, a testimony from his attorney Michael Haddad said .

Edwards suffered a broken nose and a shoulder injury.

“I couldn’t believe it when I was suddenly suffocated,” Edwards, 53, told the San Francisco Chronicle. “When I heard more sirens coming, I thought, ‘Thank god these guys are going to tell these guys to back off.’ And they just jumped in. “

A neighbor had called the police about a man who was using a sling to shoot stones at her two boys. But arriving police learned that Edwards was not the man and that his clothes and description did not match those of the suspect, his attorney said.

Edwards has been charged with defying the arrest and other criminal charges. But after 14 months, the Solano District Attorney dismissed the charges for lack of evidence, the Chronicle says.

Edwards told the newspaper that he was planning to leave town soon.

“I’m moving. I have to get out of here,” he said. “I’m gone.”

Last month, Vallejo City Council announced a public safety emergency statement that allows employees to bypass normal channels to enforce police reforms. A broader reform proposal was also adopted.

The city of 120,000 is facing a “crisis of legitimacy and trust” that requires immediate action, city spokeswoman Christina Lee said before the meeting.

The police are increasingly criticized for shootings and misconduct by officials and made taxable. Two dozen federal civil rights cases and more than a dozen criminal lawsuits are pending that could cost the city $ 50 million, as well as higher insurance premiums, Lee said.

In September, Vallejo agreed to pay $ 5.7 million to the family of a man who was shot dead by an officer after being stopped for a minor traffic violation. In June, 22-year-old Sean Monterrosa was shot dead by the police officer who believed he had a gun when he did not.

Earlier this year, the police chief announced that he would open an independent investigation after two department officials said officers bent their badges to mark the on-duty killings.

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