Anti-war protester whose arm was broke in cop tiff gets $835,000 [View All]

[matcom]

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An anti-war protester who sued San Francisco after a police officer broke her arm with a baton strike during a demonstration would get one of the city's largest-ever payouts in a police case, under an $835,000 deal that the Police Commission approved Wednesday.

The settlement was reached in a federal lawsuit filed by Linda Vaccarezza, 39, of Sonoma, who claimed her civil rights were violated when Police Officer Anthony Nelson clubbed her during the street protests that swept through downtown March 20, 2002, the day after U.S.-led forces invaded Iraq.

Nelson struck Vaccarezza with his baton as officers confronted a crowd of protesters along Market Street after ordering them to clear the streets. Vaccarezza suffered a broken forearm during the incident, which another protester recorded on videotape.

According to an investigation by the city's Office of Citizen Complaints, Nelson said he had been forced to hit Vaccarezza with his baton when she charged him with a wood-backed sign. Vaccarezza, however, told investigators that she had simply been complaining about how police were treating other protesters and had done nothing aggressive.

The Police Commission did not disclose the size of the settlement, but sources familiar with the arrangement confirmed that the sum was $835,000. The deal still must go before the Board of Supervisors.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/12/02/BAGDLA4UFN1.DTL