Corrections Officer Settles Lawsuit Against Garden City Police

A retired Nassau County corrections officer has settled his lawsuit with the Garden City Police Department, after he claimed that officers racially profiled and beat him.

According to Newsday, Ronald Lanier will be paid $150,000 by the police department, which won't admit to any wrongdoing or damages. In addition, the department will also pay his lawyer fees, which is still being negotiated.

According to reports, Lanier was at Western Beef in Mineola in November, 2016 when two Garden City police officers mistook him for a shoplifter they were searching for. Lanier claims that the police approached him from behind, pushed him to the ground, handcuffed him and then beat him.

Lanier, a black man, said he complied with the directions of the two officers, who were white. He also informed them that he was a fellow law enforcement officer but said they didn't believe him.

"As I shopped in the community where me and my family reside, I was stripped of my service, stripped of my humanity, stripped of my dignity," Lanier said at a press conference after the incident. "While I know the work of my brother officers is not easy, there is a difference from doing your job and throwing all reason and dignity to the wind."

The incident sparked protests in Garden City, with more than 150 people marching in support of Lanier.

Photo: Patch