Lamar Wright Resolves Case against City of Euclid in $475,000 Settlement
Wright sued the City and Euclid Police Officers Flagg and Williams after brutal attack.
DECEMBER 21, 2020 (Columbus, OH) – The City of Euclid has agreed to pay Lamar Wright $475,000 in a settlement after a brutal attack by EPD officers Kyle Flagg and Vashon Williams in November 2016. Wright and the City reached an agreement in September 2020, and when the settlement was finalized, on December 21, 2020, Wright dismissed his case against the City, Flagg, and Williams.
While parked in a driveway to use his cell phone in November 2016, Lamar Wright saw two men approach his car, yelling at him with guns drawn. He feared they were carjackers, but then realized they were police. Euclid officers Kyle Flagg and Vashon Williams, who had targeted and run up on Lamar without probable cause, opened the driver’s side door and told Lamar to put his hands up and turn the car off—which he did.
But before giving him an opportunity to exit the car, Flagg and Williams brutally attacked Lamar Wright, simultaneously tasing him and pepper-spraying him at close range. At the time, Lamar was recovering from surgery and had staples in his stomach and a colostomy bag. Flagg’s and Williams’ tactics caused Lamar Wright serious pain and injury after the recent surgery. Flagg and Williams took Lamar into custody, where he was harassed by police and held long after posting bail. Flagg and Williams then filed multiple false charges against Lamar, including Obstructing Official Business, Resisting Arrest, and Criminal Trespass. After several months of baseless prosecution, all charges against Lamar were dismissed.
Wright filed suit against Euclid, Flagg, and Williams in 2017. Ohio civil-rights and criminal-defense law firm Friedman, Gilbert + Gerhardstein represented Wright in this civil-rights lawsuit. The lawsuit addressed the excessive force used against Wright, along with Flagg’s and Williams’ false arrest, unlawful extended detention, and malicious prosecution of Wright. The lawsuit also included a claim against the City of Euclid itself for its policies, practices, and customs relating to the EPD’s approach to the use of force.
Wright’s lawsuit led to EPD police training materials appearing in statewide and national media. In this training, EPD officers made light of racism and police brutality. Wright’s case exposed the EPD’s unlawful and offensive training for police officers on when and how to use force, including EPD’s Chief Scott Meyer’s approval of appalling training materials that treated use of force as a joke. Lamar’s case also exposed the City of Euclid for its failure to discipline officers for excessive force events.
Wright’s lawsuit was initially dismissed but a federal appeals court reversed that decision earlier this year and ruled that the case could proceed to trial. That led to the $475,000 settlement for Wright.
Over the past few years, reports of unjustifiable and excessive force by Euclid police officers repeatedly appeared in the media. Many of these incidents were caught on camera.
Jacqueline Greene, one of Wright’s attorneys at FG+G, stated, “This settlement represents an acknowledgment that Lamar Wright was brutalized, detained, and prosecuted without cause. Police departments should take this case as a warning that the use of force and racist policing are not laughing matters, and that inappropriate officer training comes with consequences. Likewise, police everywhere should take note that they cannot fabricate pretexts to follow, detain, or attack people, and that excessive force and unfounded arrests and prosecutions will not be tolerated.”
“I filed this case to stand up against police brutality, and to stand with other victims of senseless attacks by officers from the Euclid Police Department. These officers’ illegal treatment of people in the city must stop. We need justice for all the victims of the EPD, and I hope that my case will lead to justice and change.”