By Christine MacDonald
The Detroit News
DETROIT, Mich. — The city will pay $1 million to 25 people who sued after they were detained by Detroit Police in homicide manhunts, but never charged.
The lawsuit stems from a now-banned police practice of detaining people indefinitely — often without suspicion or a warrant, especially in homicide cases. The U.S. Department of Justice ordered the city to stop the illegal detentions in 2003.
The settlement, approved unanimously Wednesday by the Detroit City Council, is just a slice of millions the city has paid out in similar lawsuits because of the policy.
Steven T. Budaj, an attorney for the 25 plaintiffs, said his clients were all detained or arrested between 2001 and 2004.
They were held by police in separate cases from a couple hours to seven days, but were never charged, Budaj said.
“They would tell them they’d never see their family again,” Budaj said.
The lead plaintiff was Rose Lewis, who was held for three days and strip-searched after being arrested at her home during a barbecue, Budaj said. Further details of the case were not available.
Detroit Police Department spokesman James Tate had no comment on the lawsuit.
The department agreed to end the practice as a part of an agreement with the federal government, called a consent decree, as a way of settling two federal lawsuits that had accused police of repeatedly violating the rights of suspects, prisoners and witnesses.
The department has spent more than $10 million to comply with the orders.
Budaj said the $1 million will be divided among the plaintiffs based on how long they were detained.
As a part of the settlement, the city agreed to write a letter for each of the 25 people saying their records should be cleared of any mention of the arrest, he said.
Budaj said his clients are eager to clear their names. “It’s been a tough thing to sort of convince people of for a long time,” he said.
Copyright 2007 Detroit News