Columbus City Council last night approved paying nearly 100 thousand dollars in attorneys' fees for a lawsuit a Columbus man won against a local police officer. A jury ruled office Thomas DeWitt used excessive force in arresting Joseph Hines on an open container charge in 2012. Josh Cox with the City Attorney's office says the fees were ordered paid by a judge.
Council also approved a 1.1 million dollar settlement of a wrongful-death lawsuit filed against a paramedic. The family of Sonia Bray sued following her death in 2011. 66-year-old James Amick is one of the two paramedics who showed up when Bray was having the problems that led to her death from a heart attack. Witnesses said the paramedics did little to help Bray. The Bray family sued Amick and the other responding paramedic, claiming they waited 25 minutes to treat her and failed to follow basic procedures. An internal probe of the incident resulted in the two getting counseling and additional training. Ohio Emergency Medical Services record show Amick let his certification expire three times in the past 10 years, though he was certified at the time of Bray’s death. Council also formally approved placing the city's 950 million bond package on the November ballot.
