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$2,500 each settles 3 WTO cases against city
Other host cities are watching outcome of Seattle litigation
Friday, August 4, 2000
By CANDACE HECKMAN
Being tear gassed, pepper sprayed and shot with rubber bullets by the Seattle Police Department could be worth $2,500.
That is the figure city attorneys settled on yesterday with three of four people who filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging police abuse during the World Trade Organization conference last year.
Mark Luehrs, Mary Tremblay and Sandra Abels each accepted a $2,500 judgment to end litigation filed in February that accused Seattle police of using excessive force to punish WTO demonstrators.
Another plaintiff, Elizabeth Miltko, who was arrested and taken into police custody during the demonstrations, is reportedly negotiating with the city.
The settlement comes on the heels of a judge's decision in June not to open the suit into a class-action comprising countless demonstrators and bystanders in downtown Seattle from Nov. 20 to Dec. 6,
U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik denied certification of the case because plaintiffs' attorneys could not clearly define the class of people who may have been wronged or harmed during the numerous run-ins with the Seattle Police Department.
Seattle's reaction to protests during the conference has rippled warnings to cities across the country, particularly those hosting large controversial events.
Washington, D.C., took heed when the International Monetary Fund met there in April. Police in Philadelphia have been preparing for the Republican National Convention for months.
Officials in these host cities are also watching the litigious aftermath of WTO -- especially cases within the federal circuit that could have a profound national effect on the clash between civil rights and public safety.
Yesterday's settlement was the best deal lawyers could secure for their clients at this time, said John Scannell, spokesman for Seattle attorney Paul H. King.
The Seattle city attorney's office declined comment yesterday. But Ruth LaRocque, office spokeswoman, indicated that the low amount of the settlement "speaks for itself."
"It basically would have come down to how much is it to get sprayed with pepper spray," said Scannell.
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
P-I reporter Candace Heckman can be reached at 425-497-1660
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