City to Pay $1.8 to Homeless Man Left Brain Damaged after LAPD Stop in North Hollywood

LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The Los Angeles City Council voted today to pay $1.8 million to settle a lawsuit alleging police officers used excessive force in a 2014 altercation with a homeless man in North Hollywood.

The amount will go to attorney fees and a trust fund set up for the care of 37-year-old Damion Russell, who suffered a brain injury on March 23, 2014, while being restrained by LAPD officers on Lankershim Boulevard, said Russell's lawyer, Humberto Guizar.

The payment resolves a federal lawsuit filed in 2014 by Russell's mother, alleging the police officers' actions led to Russell's physical injuries, including damage to his brain.

Russell, who was 35 years at the time, went into cardiac arrest during the encounter, according to Guizar.
Before officers arrived on the scene, Russell had been reported walking around the North Hollywood arts district area "acting paranoid" and talking to people who generally ignored him, according to Guizar.

LAPD officers showed up and approached Russell after he was told to leave the Laemmle Theatre and had walked by a Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant. The officers then became involved in an altercation with the transient, according to Guizar, who said Russell had not committed any crimes at the time.

The City Attorney's Office did not immediately address inquiries about the lawsuit's claims and the reasoning behind the settlement reached.

Guizar described the settlement as a "significant compromise" in light of "very challenging" issues due to a lack of available evidence, beyond the "identical" testimony given by the nine police officers involved.

He said officers reported Russell as being "belligerent," while testimony from bystanders was limited because they were "kept at bay" by officers.

Guizar said he believes Russell was asphyxiated during the altercation, but was unable to prove allegations that the officers caused Russell's injuries, making it risky to take the case to trial.

"I think it was a fair and good settlement where nobody left 100 percent happy, but there was some justice that was brought forward," Guizar said, adding it was "disappointing to see that the individual officers are not personally held accountable for the actions of misconduct they engaged in."

The $1.8 million settlement approved by the City Council today was tentatively reached in December, prior to when the case was scheduled to go to trial, according to Guizar.

City News Service