Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Criminal Receives $25K in Excessive Force Lawsuit

A Pennsylvania burglar has settled his excessive force lawsuit against a police department and prosecutor's office stemming from his 2011 arrest.

Jose Torres is serving seven to 15 years in prison for an unrelated 2012 burglary conviction but sued Allentown police and the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office over his 2011 arrest.

Torres claims he was wrongly beaten and demeaned as he was pulled from a vehicle that smashed into a van driven by an undercover police officer. That happened as Torres was meeting with an undercover informant who sought to buy a gun from him.

Torres sued saying he panicked when an armed undercover officer rushed at him with a gun, saying he crashed trying get away from a what he thought was a "crazy guy."

Torres received $25,000 in the lawsuit. 

The (Allentown) Morning Call obtained the settlement though a Right-to-Know request.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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