City leaders respond to ACLU settlement

Dec. 5--WORTHINGTON -- The city of Worthington agreed to a $590,000 settlement Monday in a civil lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota that accused a Worthington police officer of excessive use of force.

The settlement will be paid through the League of Minnesota Cities, through which the city has its insurance policy. This means the funds will not come out of the city's budget and therefore will not have an impact on residents' taxes, City Administrator Steve Robinson clarified.

"There is no admission of any liability by the city and all claims against the individual defendants, Troy Appel, Mark Riley and Evan Eggers, were separately and voluntarily dismissed," a statement released by the city read in part.

Four non-monetary conditions also accompany the financial payout. Three of these conditions were already in place at WPD: officers attend Fair and Impartial Policing training courses, officers will not attend warrior or bulletproof training courses and officers are incentivized to become competent in a second language.

Fair and Impartial Policing courses are approved by Minnesota Peace Officer Standards and Training, Chief Troy Appel explained. The courses are available through a number of channels and focus on unbiased policing.

"Our Public Safety staff has been receiving additional pay for second language competency for a number of years," Robinson said. "We currently have eight members of Public Safety that qualify for second language proficiency pay (seven in Spanish and one in Lao). Another member will soon be receiving language pay once they complete their probation period."

"Officers are encouraged to gain proficiency in any of the languages spoken in Worthington," Appel added. They use a variety of resources for this continuing education, including language classes at Minnesota West Community and Technical College.

The last non-monetary condition is new: anytime an officer uses force, they must complete an Aggression/Resistance Report as part of the case file.

Appel provided The Globe with a copy of a blank Aggression/Resistance Report. The three-page form asks for a number of details, including how the officer attempted to de-escalate the situation, weather conditions at the time of the incident and a diagram of a person where the officer is to label points of contact. The report is reviewed by a second officer before it is submitted.

"The Worthington Police Department exercises an extensive review and analysis of all use of force incidents," Appel said. "Each file is examined by officers in multiple levels of command prior to a final opinion being made. When appropriate, an external examination or investigation is prompted."

The latest settlement is the second in just over two years that the city has paid for an accusation of excessive force by WPD. Many community members are looking for a guarantee that this will not happen again.

"Given our litigious society and the number of incidents our police officers respond to, it would be irresponsible to give any assurance that there will never be another lawsuit," Robinson said.

Appel, meanwhile, explained that the wearing of body cameras (which began after the incidents in question in both WPD lawsuits) may be the key to avoiding future litigation.

"WPD functions in a continual process of regulating, enhancing and refining training, procedures and policies related to all activities -- especially use of force," he said. "The 2019 implementation of a body-worn camera program has been beneficial in holding officers and the public to their highest standards of conduct. False accusations and exaggerations of misconduct are common, but are quickly resolved by a review of the associated body camera footage. Had body cameras been available during incidents related to previous law suits, the end results may have been very different.

"With any physical altercation there's an inherent risk of injury to the subject and/or the officer," Appel continued. "Officers avoid physical altercations but sometimes that's simply impossible. Add in factors of complete non-compliance, darkness, rain, snow or ice, and simple activities such as hand cuffing can result in injury. Even if perfect procedure was followed, a resulting injury is often labeled as 'the result of brutality' by outside sources with little knowledge of the true incident details.

"It's WPD's hope and mission that the public and officers go home safe at the end of each incident, day and shift," he said.

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