Baltimore's spending panel is poised to approve a $30,000 settlement involving a man who was arrested after he failed to stop for a plainclothes officer in 2009.
Charges against Kenyon Williams were dismissed following the attempted car stop by Officer Owen Ray, according to a memo provided to the Board of Estimates. The board is expected to approve the settlement Wednesday.
Ray approached Williams while his vehicle was stopped at a traffic light on Pulaski Street on May 8, 2009.
Ray approached Williams, whose teenage son was in the passenger seat, from the driver's side of the vehicle, and attempted to have Williams pull over for identification purposes. Ray was assisting other officers in response to a report of an armed person in the area, and the officer "observed what he believed to be suspicious activity" in Williams' car, according to the memo.
Williams did not pull over. He continued to drive to his destination, a business located in the 1600 block of W. Baltimore St. Once he arrived, Williams was apprehended by a group of officers and taken to Central Booking, the memo said.
Williams was eventually released and the charges were dismissed. He sued the city for $21.6 million.
The city law department recommended a settlement because of "conflicting factual issues and legal concerns regarding the probable cause for the arrests."
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