DULUTH – A handcuffed man who was dragged through the Skywalk by a Duluth police officer will receive a $90,000 settlement from the city — if the Duluth City Council signs off on it during Monday's meeting.

Brandon Houle filed a lawsuit against the city also naming the three police officers who were at the scene of the 2017 incident near the Tech Village parking ramp. Officers responded to a trespassing call in downtown Duluth and found Houle, who refused to leave. He was handcuffed and led through the Skywalk system.

Widely circulated body camera footage from that time shows Houle drop to the ground and tell officers that he isn't going to make it easy for them. Officer Adam Huot dragged him about 100 feet across the floor by the chain of the cuffs, then through a double door where Houle's head clunked against the metal doorframe.

In the lawsuit filed March 2023, Houle claims the incident left him with a traumatic brain injury, in addition to the "loss of freedom and liberty, emotional distress, and violation of his constitutional rights." His wrists were also injured.

According to the settlement agreement, Houle will drop all charges and there is no admission of liability on the part of the defendants. His attorney will receive the money in a lump sum within 20 days. The resolution to approve the terms is listed on the agenda for Monday's City Council meeting.

Houle's Minneapolis based attorney Zorislav R. Leyderman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Huot was briefly dismissed for using unreasonable force and violating the department's policy by not reporting the use of force. The Duluth Police Union challenged the firing and a labor arbitrator ruled that his conduct warranted discipline, but not dismissal. The city challenged the decision in district court and at the state Court of Appeals, and judges continued to side with the union. Huot has been back within the ranks of the Duluth Police Department since 2020.

Beau Hughes and Morgan Cekalla, the other officers at the scene and named in the lawsuit because they did not physically intervene, are also still with the Duluth Police Department — though Cekalla is now an investigator.