The Department of Motor Vehicles however was not notified that police had confiscated Hernandez’s driver’s license and no DUI charges were filed against him.After Hernandez alleged civil rights violations and filed a claim with the city the District Attorney’s Office charged him with resisting arrest, a charge that was later dismissed.The lawsuit, said Interim City Manager Cliff Finley, “Was turned over to the insurance company and they make business decisions … I don’t agree” that a settlement should have been made but “it wasn’t worth litigating” and there was no guarantee the city would have prevailed in court.“Win or lose it would be expensive and we have told our insurer we believe the case should have proceeded, but they make the business decisions and sometimes it’s cheaper than the alternative,” Finley said the insurance company “and their attorneys decided to settle based on the costs of litigation.“It’s very unfortunate,” Finley noted, “but that’s the system … ”
City’s insurer settles lawsuit over Taser incident involving local man
August 07, 2009
Santa Paula News
The insurer for the City of Santa Paula did not admit fault but agreed to a $250,000 settlement stemming from a 2006 incident where an area man alleged Santa Paula Police Officers took him to the ground and then stunned him twice with a Taser.
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesThe insurer for the City of Santa Paula did not admit fault but agreed to a $250,000 settlement stemming from a 2006 incident where an area man alleged Santa Paula Police Officers took him to the ground and then stunned him twice with a Taser.The lawsuit of Andrew S. Hernandez, 29, stated he suffered a back injury that later required surgery.Named in the lawsuit were the City of Santa Paula, Police Chief Steve MacKinnon and the police officers involved in the incident.The case was filed in federal court in Los Angeles and was scheduled to go to trial Tuesday, August 4, but was settled more than a week before the court date by the city’s joint powers insurance authority and its attorneys.In 2006 Hernandez was pulled over by SPPD Officers in front of his girlfriend’s house and arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and resisting arrest.
