A US magistrate has approved a deal to settle a lawsuit by Haitian immigrant Mr Abner Louima, who was tortured by police four years ago.
The settlement will see New York City and the police union pay almost $9 million and is the largest in the city’s history in a police brutality case.
It ends the civil litigation in a case that drew international attention because of its brutality, increased racial tensions and became a symbol of excessive use of force by New York police officers.
Mr Louima was beaten by police in a squad car and a precinct house after his arrest in a melee outside a nightclub on August 9th, 1997. One officer rammed a broken broomstick into Mr Louima's rectum in the station house bathroom, seriously injuring him.
Four white police officers were convicted in a 1999 federal trial of criminal charges against Mr Louima, who is black.
US Magistrate Cheryl Pollak signed off on the deal that cost the city $7.125 million and the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association $1.625 million for a total of $8.75 million.
Mr Louima (34) will receive $5.8 million, with $2.9 million allocated for lawyers' fees, according to settlement papers.
"As a result of what happened to me . . . several changes for the better have taken place at the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association and in the New York City Police Department," Mr Louima said at a news conference. "And more, I hope, will be implemented in the future."
Justin Volpe, the officer who admitted torturing Mr Louima, was sentenced to 30 years in prison, and Charles Schwarz, convicted of restraining Louima in the bathroom, is serving 15 years. Schwarz and two other officers, Thomas Bruder and Thomas Wiese, were convicted of conspiring to cover up Schwarz's role.