Council Approves Settlement For Wrongful Arrest
Four officers' forceful arrest of wrong individual results in cash settlement.
A Milwaukee Police Department SUV in downtown Milwaukee. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
Torrey Hardy had just gotten off work the night of Nov. 29, 2022 when he found himself forcefully handcuffed by members of the Milwaukee Police Department.
According to a police report, a gas station clerk initially said that Hardy was the individual that pulled a gun on him after officers detained him around the corner from the station. But after MPD officers placed Hardy in handcuffs, the clerk saw Hardy’s face and said it wasn’t him. Hardy, in a federal lawsuit, claims he wasn’t even wearing the same color shirt, had his arm broken in the arrest and missed work. A review of video footage confirmed it wasn’t Hardy.
The incident will now cost the City of Milwaukee $90,000.
Without discussion, the Common Council unanimously approved a settlement Tuesday for Hardy and his attorney Todd Korb of Hupy & Abraham.
“Based on the status of litigation and the strengths and weaknesses of each parties’ positions, it is the City Attorney’s recommendation that the proposed settlement is in the City’s best interest,” says a letter from City Attorney Evan Goyke and assistant city attorney Justin Dreikosen.
The four officers involved in the incident and named in the lawsuit, Alondra Santiago, Oscar Espita, Nicolas Romeo and Jordan Bryant, remain employed by MPD. The city and police department did not admit fault as part of the settlement.
Hardy, in fling the lawsuit in August, initially asked for $350,000 “for personal injuries and violation of his Constitutional rights.”
The incident occurred at 575 W. Becher St., site of Best Petroleum. The gas station, according to city license records, is owned by Bilal Muhammad. The owner was not the clerk who interacted with police.
The police report from the incident says Hardy “violently ripped his left hand away” from one of the officers when they started to search his backpack for a gun and then knocked the body camera off the individual. Hardy, says the report, then attempted a two-hand push of the same officer before being handcuffed. The report does not mention that a gun was ever found.
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