By LARRY GORDON contact the reporter
UCLA and Judge David S. Cunningham say the settlement
should be 'a teachable moment' about police relations
UCLA will pay $150,000 to Judge David Cunningham and
his attorney and $350,000 to a scholarship fund.
The judge claimed he was brutalized by UCLA police in
traffic stop and was a victim of racial profiling
UCLA has agreed to pay $500,000, including $350,000 in
scholarships, to settle a claim by a prominent African American judge over
alleged mistreatment and racial profiling by campus police during a traffic
stop last year, officials announced Friday.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David S.
Cunningham, who is a former president of the Los Angeles Police Commission, and
his attorney will receive $150,000 and an additional $350,000 will establish a
scholarship fund named after Cunningham and administered by the UCLA Black
Alumni Association for undergraduate or law students, according to a statement
from both sides in the dispute.
In addition, UCLA pledged to improve training for
police on diversity and to hold a one-day community forum about relations
between police and the public, including racial profiling.
The judge in January filed a $10-million claim against
UCLA for excessive force and racial profiling, alleging that he was “shaken,
battered and bruised” in the Nov. 23, 2013 traffic stop in Westwood.
He said that the officers stopped him seconds after he
left a LA Fitness gym, shoved him against his car, handcuffed him and locked
him in the back seat of a police cruiser until a black sergeant arrived. He
alleges that the only explanation for the conduct was “his African American
race,” and that he was not even close to university property.
In a joint statement released Friday, UCLA and
Cunningham said they “have a mutual desire to use this as an opportunity to
deepen understanding, raise the quality of police-community interactions and
provide positive outcomes that enhance diversity and opportunity in our
community.”
“Both parties are eager to use this as a teachable
moment that provides greater insight into important issues, increased educational
opportunities and improved relations between law enforcement and the
public," the statement said. "This civic-minded agreement serves the
best interest of the entire community and settles the matter to the mutual
satisfaction of the parties.”
This civic-minded agreement serves the best interest
of the entire community.- joint statement from UCLA and David S. Cunningham
Carl E. Douglas, Cunningham’s attorney, said he and
the judge were limited by the agreement in what they could say about the case
but he noted that the settlement was reached before the legal matter took the
step beyond the claim to filing a possible formal court suit.
“I am extremely pleased that there is going to be a
community day forum focusing on issues of racial profiling. I am extremely
pleased that there is going to be retraining of all patrol officers for UCLA. I
am extremely pleased that a portion of the settlement is being used for the
education of needy students,” Douglas said.
UCLA spokesman Steve Ritea said that campus officials
would not be able to comment beyond the formal statement.
The still unscheduled community forum will be held
during the 2014-15 school year at UCLA Law School and will focus on
“understanding diversity, bias, public engagement, racial profiling and effective
strategies for ensuring equity in policing,” the announcement said.
The settlement documents said that Cunningham will be
invited to attend the session and that other civil rights experts will also be
asked to speak.
Training for all UCLA police officers over the next
year will emphasize “diversity, bias, public engagement and use of force,” the
statement said. According to the settlement, UCLA police also will take
“reasonable steps” to have Cunningham’s traffic citation for failing to wear a
seat belt dismissed although it noted that the final decision will be made by a
traffic judge.
The scholarship fund will be named the David S.
Cunningham, III Scholarship for Civil Rights. Asked whether it will be reserved
for African American students, Douglas said that will be decided by Cunningham
and the black alumni association.
According to Cunningham’s complaint, he was trying to
find his registration and insurance forms in his car’s glove box when a
prescription bottle for high blood pressure medicine rolled out. One of the
officers asked him whether he was carrying drugs. Cunningham then said he went
to search his trunk for the papers and that the officers, Kevin Dodd and James
Kim, rushed and handcuffed him.
Cunningham, who had reviewed many cases of possible
police misconduct matters during his time on the Police Commission, said he
feared for his safety and began yelling about police brutality and demanded
they call a supervisor.
In a statement after the incident, the UCLA police
department said the matter began as a routine traffic stop and that Cunningham
ignored officers' orders to stay in his car. “Despite these instructions, the
driver left the vehicle – an escalating behavior that can place officers at
risk,” the department said at the time.
The $150,000 Cunningham and his attorney will receive
comes from UC’s self-insured risk program, and the scholarship funds will come
from other campus resources, officials said.
