Boynton Beach looks to pay $45,000 settlement in police case

June 28--BOYNTON BEACH -- Michael Arco and Michael Mulcahy haven't been members of the Boynton Beach Police Department for a while now, but the men and their controversial history is resurfacing as city commissioners are expected to decide Tuesday whether to pay $45,000 to a man who claimed false imprisonment, among other things, by the two former officers.

The suit, which was originally filed in February 2013 in the Palm Beach County Circuit Court and then moved to federal court in November of that year, dates back to the Nov. 1, 2010 arrest of Clifford Henfield, now 40. Henfield was arrested on charges of resisting an officer with violence, assault on a police officer and operating a vehicle with a suspended, revoked or canceled license.

The Palm Beach County State Attorney decided not to file charges again Henfield in January 2011 because the speedy trial period had expired. The suit is against the City of Boynton Beach and the former officers.

"The city does not admit any liability and/or fault and enters into this settlement only because of the expense of continuing litigation," city staff wrote in May explaining the settlement.

The $45,000 would be paid by the city to Henfield on behalf of all defendants.

No attorney involved in the case -- on behalf of the city, the former officers and Henfield -- responded to requests for comment Friday.

Arco and Mulcahy worked at the police department during a tumultuous time when several officers were arrested, some fired and one became a fugitive. The two men were arrested in August 2011 on charges of official misconduct and giving a false official statement for lying about how they entered the motel room of an armed robbery suspect in 2010. Mulcahy was fired in January 2013 and Arco resigned after the arrest.

In Henfield's case, the suburban Delray Beach man was arrested after he was pulled over by officers investigating a kidnap case. Henfield who was driving a black Cadillac SUV, which officers say matched a suspect description, was ordered to place his hands in the air and walk backwards but he didn't listen and advanced in a hostile manner, according to an arrest report.

The lawsuit tells a different story and says once Henfield told officers he didn't know where the suspect was, "Officer Arco, suddenly and without provocation, struck him in the face with his closed fist."

However events unfolded, both sides reported a fight started and ended with injuries.

Henfield claimed both personal and mental suffering, as well as false arrest, battery, negligent retention/supervision and malicious prosecution.

The city's risk management department said if the city does not settle the suit, it likely would end up paying $150,000 in legal fees and if the case went to a jury, the city could be ordered to pay at least $35,000. The city has already paid $93,932.71 in legal fees, according to documents.

Arco and the city also are defendants in a lawsuit filed in October 2012 by Christopher Yesnick, who claimed that Arco and three other officers "battered" him with "unlawful physical force." That case is still pending.

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