BOULDER — The city of Boulder is preparing to settle out of court with a former University of Colorado student who was hit in the eye with a police pepper ball during a 2004 Halloween block party that turned into a riot after officers intervened.
The Boulder City Council will be asked Tuesday to give the city attorney permission to settle the nearly six-year-old federal case, which then-22-year-old CU student Jonathan Lemery filed against police Chief Mark Beckner, Officer Richard French and the city of Boulder.
The potential agreement includes paying Lemery $230,000 in exchange for no further legal action against the city or police.
Lemery, who recently moved to San Diego, sued the city and police for using excessive force and permanently damaging his eyesight. The suit claims that he lost depth perception and peripheral vision in his right eye and continues to suffer from double vision.
The U.S. Court of Appeals in early 2009 reversed a district court’s decision that favored the city, sending the case back to the lower court.
Now, the City Council will have to decide whether to finally put an end to the lengthy case or continue to trial.
Read the rest of this report, including details of what happened, at .
