Chris Dolan, lead trial counsel and founder of the Dolan Law Firm, PC, announced today that the City of Stockton has paid $307,500 to settle a federal abuse of force case against the Stockton Police Department.
The federal civil rights lawsuit brought on behalf of James Smith, a mentally disabled, African American, man, alleged that multiple bites inflicted by a Police K9 as Mr. Smith was handcuffed, were an abusive excessive use of force. At the time of the canine attack on November 21, 2014, Smith, then 18 years old, with an IQ of a child, lay face down and in handcuffs. Video of the attack showed that officers stood aside as the dog repeatedly bit Mr. Smith for more than a minute.
