By DAVID HARPER World Staff
Writer | 1 comment
The city of Tulsa has agreed to
pay $300,000 to settle its part of a lawsuit filed by a woman who was freed
from federal prison after corruption within the Tulsa Police Department was
uncovered, attorneys confirmed Thursday.
Larita Barnes had filed the
case Aug. 6, 2010, slightly more than a year after she was freed from custody.
She alleged that she was
deprived of her rights and illegally incarcerated after Jeff Henderson, a
former undercover officer in the Tulsa Police Department's Special
Investigations Division, and Brandon McFadden, a former agent of the U.S.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, coached a drug informant
and fabricated a drug buy in May 2007.
She also alleged that the city
failed to act on previous cases in which Henderson was accused of fabricating
evidence or was disciplined as an officer.
"This created an
atmosphere within the Tulsa Police Department of officers being able to
routinely and frequently violate the statutory and constitutional rights of
citizens, without fear of any discipline or firing," the lawsuit states.
Barnes, now 37, was convicted
in April 2008 of two drug charges and was sentenced in October 2008 to 10 years
in prison. She was freed July 2, 2009, as a result of a court order that also
freed her father, Larry Barnes Sr., 63, who had been convicted in the same case
and had been sentenced to 5 1/2 years in custody.
Larita Barnes' attorney, Mark
Lyons, said Thursday evening that the $300,000 settlement was a "legal and
moral victory" for his client.
Lyons said he was "delighted"
with the result. He said the facts of Larita Barnes' case "cried out for
her to be compensated and for her to be made right."
At least 48 people have been
freed from prison or had their cases modified because of civil rights
violations or potential problems with their cases stemming from the police
corruption.
City of Tulsa Litigation
Division Manager Gerald Bender and attorney Guy Fortney — who also represented the city in the case — both independently confirmed the $300,000
figure.
Bender said the city agreed on
the amount subject to the dismissal of claims against Henderson, who was
convicted in August 2011 of six counts of perjury and two counts of civil
rights violations and was sentenced to 42 months in prison.
Bender said the case was
resolved as a result of a day-long settlement conference conducted in Oklahoma
City last Friday by U.S. Senior District Judge Lee West.
An official document stating
that Larita Barnes had settled her claims against the city of Tulsa and
Henderson was filed Monday, although it did not list the terms.
Lyons said he expects the funds
to be paid to Barnes in late January or early February. He did not divulge his
fees but said Barnes will get most of the money.
He noted that the lawsuit
remains alive against McFadden, who was sentenced in December 2011 to a
21-month prison term on a drug-conspiracy conviction.
Larita Barnes also has a
separate lawsuit pending against the U.S. government concerning McFadden's
actions while he was an ATF agent.
At least 17 lawsuits related to
the Tulsa police corruption scandal have been filed in federal or state court,
including still-pending litigation brought by Larry Barnes Sr.
The city has received mostly
favorable pretrial rulings, although it agreed to settle a case with Demario T.
Harris for $50,000.
Harris, 33, had been convicted
in 2005 of drug and gun crimes. He was sentenced to life in prison but was
freed in October 2010 after the prosecution conceded that his "conviction
was obtained in violation of the defendant's due process rights."
Bender has previously said the
choice to settle the Harris case was a "business decision" that was
made by evaluating the lawsuit and what it would cost to defend it.
Beyond confirming the amount,
Bender did not comment about the decision to settle with Larita Barnes on
Thursday evening, citing court rules that govern settlement conferences —- which are not public proceedings.
