ANTIOCH, Calif. -- City leaders late Tuesday authorized the settlement of a class-action federal lawsuit over alleged police discrimination against black renters.
The City Council unanimously voted for the settlement, City Attorney Lynn Tracy Nerland reported following a closed session meeting.
The 2008 federal suit claims that Antioch police targeted black residents on Section 8 housing aid through a policy of arrests and harassment. Antioch continues to emphatically deny the allegations.
City Manager Jim Jakel said that Antioch was approached with a settlement offer by attorneys for the plaintiffs and felt it represented a good economic decision.
Bay Area Legal Aid sued the city in May 2008 on behalf of five black women receiving Section 8 assistance who accused the police department's Community Action Team, or CAT, of racial discrimination. The American Civil Liberties Union and three other Bay Area civil rights groups later sought class-action status for all Section 8 recipients in Antioch.
The class-action was certified last fall to include all blacks "who have held, currently hold, or may hold Section 8 vouchers and all members of their households, who reside or will reside in Antioch," though only four of the claims were entitled to receive money from a jury verdict.
In two other related federal suits, a jury ruled against an Antioch resident that claimed police harassment and a family of Antioch landlords dropped their suit.
"Throughout the long process of litigation, city residents of every race and background consistently voiced their support for community policing and the Antioch Police Department," Jakel said.
The city plans to release more details about the settlement Wednesday morning.
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