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March 17--OAKLAND -- The city has agreed to pay $412,500 to a man whose arm was broken by an Oakland police officer during a Raiders game in August 2008.
Raymond Castillo filed the federal civil rights lawsuit against Oakland and the Oakland Police Department in October 2009. In his suit, Castillo argued that Officer Bryant Ocampo and possibly others used excessive force that caused his arm to break at the elbow.
According to court records, Castillo was a union plumber's apprentice and was working full time when the incident occurred.
Due to his injuries, he was unable to work for a year and must still undergo medical treatments, said Castillo's attorney, Michael Haddad. Castillo likely will have residual effects from the break for the rest of his life, the lawyer added.
Castillo, a San Francisco 49ers fan who lives in the East Bay, attended the exhibition game between the Raiders and 49ers and sat in the Black Hole, the end-zone area of the Coliseum known for hosting the most die-hard Raiders fanatics. A fight broke out about two rows away, and Castillo said in his lawsuit that he was "jostled and pushed" by Raiders fans but was not involved in the fight.
Still, Castillo said he was tackled by an Oakland police officer, thought to be Ocampo. The officer twisted and bent Castillo's left arm behind his back to apply handcuffs, causing his arm to break, despite the fact that Castillo was not resisting arrest, the suit said. The suit also
asserts that the police officers singled out 49ers fans for arrest and berated them. Castillo was treated by paramedics at the scene, then transported by ambulance to a hospital. He was never charged.
The department conducted an internal affairs investigation, but it is not known if Ocampo was disciplined. He currently serves a patrol officer.
Haddad said the injuries sustained by his client could only have been caused exactly the way he said it happened.
"That's why (the city) paid, there was no way to justify that severe use of force," Haddad said. "There was a lot of rowdiness at that game, but he was taking it easy because he had to work the next day."
Haddad also said it was unfortunate that the city waited to settle until two business days before the trial was scheduled to start because it caused both sides' legal bills to skyrocket. Of the settlement, Castillo will receive $167,500, and Haddad will receive $245,000 in fees and court costs. Alex Katz, spokesman for the city attorney, said the city did not admit liability but recognized that a trial carried risks and settled to limit liability to taxpayers. The city spent $21,000 to hire an outside firm to help with the case.
The hefty settlement comes on the heels of a $300,000 payout last month to Lorenzo Hall to settle a lawsuit that accused Oakland police of planting a gun on him. Hall spent nearly two years in jail.
The city also paid out substantial settlements last year on behalf of the police department, including $6.5 million in July to settle two federal civil rights cases that accused Oakland police of falsifying sworn affidavits to obtain search warrants on homes in East and West Oakland. In October, the city agreed to pay $1.2 million to a woman who was severely burned when police threw a flash-bang grenade into a room after breaking down the door of the home to serve a search warrant.
Larry Reid, president of the Oakland City Council, said every council member is concerned about the amount of money being paid to outside attorneys to handle city cases, as well as the nature of the cases that are being filed against the city and the police department.
"It's a real big issue with everybody on the council," he said. "I could probably make money selling tickets to closed sessions if I could. People are concerned over the amount of these large payouts."
