The City of Colorado Springs has agreed to pay $212,000 to settle a racial profiling lawsuit alleging city cops unlawfully targeted two African-American men during a 2015 traffic stop.
Ryan Brown, 31, recorded the controversial stop on his cell phone, which showed Colorado Springs police officers aggressively pulling him and his 22-year-old brother, Benjamin Brown, from their vehicle at gunpoint for reasons officers declined to reveal. The video made national news, getting over 165,000 views.
At the time, police said the officers’ conduct was “justified, legal and proper.” But the department will still be tweaking some of its policies to better define when officers can search, seize and arrest, according to the terms of the settlement agreement.
Some of those changes include removing language that allows officers to consider an individual’s refusal to cooperate as probable cause to search or arrest. The department is also reiterating constitutional protections to record police without fear of unjustified seizure. The changes will be posted online by July 1.
A police spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment.
Other terms of the agreement mandated the settlement be paid within 15 days, with $153,292.60 owed to the Browns and the remaining sum to the ACLU. The men also will get to talk to Police Chief Pete Carey.
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