Baltimore will cover damages for five police officers

Baltimore City Solicitor Andre Davis has decided that taxpayers should cover the damages that five officers faced paying personally after a jury concluded they acted with malice in a 2013 arrest.

In August, a jury ordered the officers to pay $40,000 in punitive damages in a case involving two men they arrested. Davis had said earlier this week that the city was not required to cover that award but that he was reviewing the case.

On Friday he announced that he has chosen to cover $32,500 of the damages and that the men who sued the officers had agreed not to seek the outstanding amount. The result is that the officers will not be required to pay the damages themselves.

The issue of whether the city will cover punitive damages sparked a fierce battle between Davis and the police officers’ union, which sent an email to its members accusing Davis of changing a long-standing policy.

Davis, in turn, noted that the union and the city were involved in litigation and difficult contract talks and said the officers’ union representatives were trying to cause trouble.

Davis’ announcement about the payments eased some of the tension between the two sides. Lt. Gene Ryan, the president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #3, said he was happy with the city solicitor’s decision.

“I’m glad he changed his mind and reconsidered,” Ryan said. “The fact still remains those five officers in question did absolutely nothing wrong.”

Davis and his predecessor confirmed that there had been no policy change, and Davis said Friday that his decision was not related to the union’s criticisms.

“I want to emphasize that my decision in this case is entirely unrelated to the spurious assertions by the Fraternal Order of Police,” he said.

The issue of paying damages arises in cases where a jury finds officers acted with “actual malice” and awards punitive damages. State law doesn’t require the public to pay those damages, leaving the officers personally on the hook.

Ryan said he thinks that judges don’t always give jurors enough help reaching the right decisions but that he has no problem with officers being held responsible when they truly do act maliciously.

“We’ve had some bad apples, but those are the ones we want to weed out,” he said.

The case in which Davis issued his findings on Friday stems from a jury’s decision in August.

Two men, Leo Joseph Green and James Green, won a verdict against Officers Nicholas Chapman, Daraine Harris, Brian Loiero, Marcus Smothers and Nathan Ulmer. The two civilians had alleged battery, false arrest and violations of constitutional rights in connection with an incident that occurred in Northeast Baltimore in 2013.

The jury called for $147,100 in compensa- tory damages, which the city has agreed to pay, as well as $40,000 in punitive damages.