A Baltimore Circuit Court jury on Tuesday awarded $95,000 to a man who had sued city police alleging that his arrest in April 2009 was unwarranted, according to his attorney.
Tyron Decarlos Satchell, 18, had sought $1 million in punitive and an additional $4 million in compensatory damages against officers Frederick E. Murray, Christopher Warren and John Potter, all assigned to the Southwest District.
According to his lawsuit, the three plainclothes officers confronted Satchell as he sat on the front porch of his home in the 1700 block of Poplar Grove St. The suit says the officers ordered some young men who were there off the porch, demanded their identification cards and "told them to sit on the ground."
Satchell protested, and "he was thrown to the ground, assaulted and placed in handcuffs." His attorney, Paul M. Polansky, said Satchell was released 10 hours later from the Central Booking and Intake Center without being charged with a crime.
Baltimore police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi declined to comment, as did police union officials which represented the officers in court. City Solicitor George Nilson did not respond to questions. Polansky said the jury cleared Warren of culpability but put most of the blame on Murray.
An earlier version of this article misstated Satchell's age and noted a criminal record. He has no criminal record.