Man in Police Abuse Case Gets $150,000 Settlement
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Luis Ortiz, a 23-year-old Inglewood resident who was one of three men who won a $379,000 settlement from Torrance in 1995, has been awarded a $150,000 settlement for a second incident that allegedly involved the same Torrance police officer.
Ortiz filed a lawsuit last year alleging he was threatened by Officer Martin Dempsey on May 27, 1996, at the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance while shopping with his wife, son and younger brother.
At the time, the lawsuit said, Dempsey swore and shouted at Ortiz and put his hand on his service revolver.
In 1995, Ortiz was one of three Latino men awarded a settlement after a federal jury found that Dempsey and another white officer violated the trio’s civil rights during a 1994 traffic stop in the city.
Torrance agreed last week to pay the $150,000 settlement before the civil lawsuit went to trial in federal court early next year, said Ortiz’s attorney, Howard Price.
Robert Acciani, a deputy city attorney in Torrance, said the city agreed to the settlement because it less costly than going to court.
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