Report: Minn. city paid $2.4M in '09 for lawsuits

A Minneapolis TV station reports that the city has paid $11 million to settle police department lawsuits in the last four years.

KSTP-TV says the city has already paid $2.4 million this year for settlements involving the police.

That includes a $495,000 settlement to Eldridge Chatman. He needed two brain surgeries after an officer hit him in the head during a raid that had nothing to do with him.

Another $626,000 went to a family after police barged into their home by mistake. Both sides traded gunfire but no one was hurt.

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Some of the money went to current officers. Five of them received $740,000 after alleging racial discrimination.

Minneapolis City Council president Barbara Johnson says the police chief has been aggressive about trying to discipline officers when necessary.

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Information from: KSTP-TV, http://www.kstp.com

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)