Settlement stems from actions of ex-SDPD Officer
Anthony Arevalos
DOWNTOWN
SAN DIEGO — The actions of former San Diego police Officer Anthony
Arevalos have now cost taxpayers at least $2.3 million as the City Council on
Tuesday finalized a $795,000 settlement to a woman who said he sexually
assaulted her.
That
sum is the largest payment the city has made in the flurry of a dozen lawsuits
filed by women who said they were harassed or assaulted by Arevalos, a former
traffic officer with the department. He was convicted of sexual battery and
other charges and in February 2012 was sentenced to almost nine years in state prison.
The
latest settlement stems from a lawsuit filed by a woman identified in court
papers as Jane Roe who alleged that she was sexually assaulted by Arevalos in
the back seat of a police car after her arrest for drunken driving in February
2010.
The
settlement agreement was first announced in September at a brief hearing in
federal court. At the time, Roe said she was relieved and settled the case to
avoid it dragging out for years.
The
council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the settlement in a perfunctory
decision as a council majority had previously approved it in closed session
months ago.
One
more case is pending in federal court. That case involves a woman whose
complaint that Arevalos sexually battered her in the bathroom of a convenience
store after her arrest for drunken driving triggered the criminal charges
against him.