By The Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The city agreed Monday to pay $4.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by an undercover police officer who was shot by a colleague and left permanently disabled.
The City Council voted to settle the lawsuit by Officer Duy Ngo, which sought $12 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages. It will be paid out of the city’s self-insurance fund.
Ngo was on gang surveillance in February 2003 when he got into a confrontation with a suspect and was shot in the side. His bulletproof vest saved him, and Ngo radioed for help, describing the suspect, who fled on foot.
Officer Charles Storlie was among those who responded to the call. When Storlie arrived, Ngo was on one knee under a streetlight waving his arms. Storlie jumped out of his cruiser and almost immediately began firing his semiautomatic machine gun, striking Ngo six times.
Ngo, 35, returned to work after months of rehabilitation but is restricted to desk duty because he can’t grip a gun. The lawsuit, filed in 2004, claimed Storlie violated his civil rights by improperly using deadly force.
Storlie resigned in January to do contract security work in the Middle East.
His attorney, Pete Regnier, said Storlie is very sorry for Ngo’s injuries but believes the evidence shows the shooting was justified.