After settling with cop, Minneapolis poised to pay man he struck

Minneapolis paid the officer $25,000 to settle a defamation suit. Now the City Council is about to OK a $26,000 payment to the man he hit.

By DAVID CHANEN, Star Tribune

Last update: August 18, 2008 - 11:09 PM

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For the second time in less than two years, the Minneapolis City Council will settle a lawsuit involving the same police officer and the same incident. But one of the suits comes from the officer himself.

Later this week the council is expected to approve a $26,000 settlement to a man who said he received a permanent injury from officer Victor Mills in 2004. Nearly two years ago, the city paid Mills $25,000 to settle a defamation suit over the same incident.

The incident dates to August 2004, when Mills was one of several officers dispatched to a loud party at 2921 Park Av. S. When an officer walked through the front door of the duplex, police said, the owner and four men rushed toward him.

The officers said they told the group to step back. When they didn't, officers sprayed them with a chemical irritant. Because of the number of people in the area, officers radioed for another squad car.

One of the people in the area was Joel Matos Ramos, who stood holding a baby. After officers cleared the scene, Ramos yelled profanities at them and beat his chest. Several officers, including Mills, went to arrest him.

The officers said Ramos struggled while they tried to put him in a squad car, but a videotape taken by a neighbor across the street didn't support this, according a settlement document from the city attorney's office.

Near the squad car, Mills hit Ramos in the mouth with his open hand. Mills claimed this was to keep Ramos from spitting on another officer. Medical records show Ramos sustained a permanent deviated septum.

The videotape was broadcast by the media. Then-Police Chief Bill McManus took the unusual step of making a public statement that Mills had acted improperly.

No criminal charges were filed against Mills, who joined the department in 1994. He was placed on paid administrative leave for six months while charges were considered, which McManus said was standard procedure.

The department's internal affairs unit found that Mills didn't use excessive non-deadly force, but he did fail to fill out a report about the incident. At the time, Mills' attorney said he "was punished for following his training exactly how he was taught."

Mills sued the city, claiming that McManus defamed him and violated the state's Data Practices Act because he demonstrated what happened to a group of residents and journalists on the steps of a church in south Minneapolis.

"McManus clearly violated the Data Practices Act," said Lt. John Delmonico, president of the Police Federation. "Not only did he publicly criticize what Mills did, but he stood on the church steps and re-enacted the whole thing to show how bad it was. I've never seen a chief do that."

City spokesman Matt Laible declined to comment Monday.

McManus was praised by the Latino community for his comments about the incident. He later left Minneapolis for Texas, becoming police chief in San Antonio. Mills now works in Minneapolis' Fifth Precinct.

In November 2006, the council approved a $25,000 settlement of Mills' suit.

Delmonico said it is ridiculous that the city is now giving Ramos a larger settlement than Mills. "Are they doing this on purpose?" he asked.

David Chanen • 612-673-4465

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