The city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, agreed to a $127,000 settlement with Terrence Williams, who alleged that two police officers broke his jaw and fractured his orbital bone during a traffic stop in August 2020.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, claimed that officers stopped Williams for a seatbelt violation and escalated the encounter after Williams asked why he was being detained. Body camera footage, which the city initially declined to release, showed an officer striking Williams multiple times with a closed fist after he was already handcuffed.
The city admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement agreement, which was approved by the Lancaster City Council in a 5-2 vote. 'We believe settling is the most responsible use of taxpayer dollars,' said Mayor Danene Sorace.
Officers no longer employed
Both officers involved in the incident resigned from the Lancaster Police Department in 2022 during an internal investigation. Neither has faced criminal charges, though the Department of Justice declined to pursue federal civil rights prosecution due to insufficient evidence of willful violation.
Williams's attorney, Mary Catherine Roper of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, called the settlement 'a small measure of justice' but said 'the officers should have been prosecuted.'
We believe settling is the most responsible use of taxpayer dollars, given the uncertainties and costs of continued litigation.
The settlement includes $100,000 for Williams and $27,000 for attorney's fees. Lancaster has also agreed to implement additional use-of-force training and to release body camera footage within 30 days of any serious use-of-force incident going forward.
