The city of Buffalo is preparing to pay $210,000 to settle a Buffalo man’s lawsuit accusing police officers of false arrest, excessive use of force and violating his civil rights.
Buffalo police officers Lawrence Briggs and Ryan Sanders arrested Verdel Hogues during a vehicle stop on Victoria Avenue on Aug. 15, 2019 on charges of criminal possession of marijuana, criminal possession of a weapon, disorderly conduct, obstructing governmental administration and resisting arrest.
Chelsea Ellis’ attorney declined to reveal the financial settlement, which requires approval by the Buffalo Common Council.
Hogues claimed in his lawsuit that while the officers were frisking him during the incident, Briggs picked him up and slammed him to the ground after he told the officer he could not move his legs further away from his car because he was disabled. He said both officers then punched and kicked him. He claimed that the use of force aggravated a prior back injury he had, and he had to have surgery on his neck and back for a fracture.
“I am in pain every day with my neck. There’s no relief,” Hogues testified at a deposition in 2021.
The officers accused Hogues of verbally and physically resisting their commands and attempts to subdue him.
All of the charges…
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