Oakland to pay legal fees in public search by cops

Oakland to pay legal fees in public search by cops

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The City Council has agreed to pay the lawyers for two men whose pants were pulled down by police on a public street more than $832,000 in legal fees.

The council voted 7-1 in closed session Tuesday to approve the payout to civil rights attorneys John Burris and Michael Haddad, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The money will come from city funds.

The lawyers represent Spencer Troy Lucas and Kirby Bradshaw, who were awarded $245,000 in damages in the case last year by a federal judge.

“As prevailing parties, the plaintiffs are entitled to recover their reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs,” said City Attorney Barbara Parker.

Police pulled down the pants of Lucas and Bradshaw on a public street in December 2005 after an officer, Ingo Mayer, pulled their Cadillac over for no reason, U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel wrote in her August ruling.

The judge said Mayer then handcuffed Lucas, pulled down his pants and shook his boxers against his genitals after pulling them down half way, as he asked Lucas whether he had drugs. As a crowd gathered to watch, another officer apparently searched Bradshaw in a similar manner.

The plaintiffs testified that they felt humiliated and degraded, according to Patel.