St. Paul Pays $1M in 2012 for Police Lawsuits

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - The city of St. Paul paid about $1 million in total costs for lawsuits alleging police misconduct last year.

Reports say that's the largest amount in at least 17 years.

Of the eight lawsuits settled in 2012, half the incidents occurred during Chief Thomas Smith's tenure. The other half were during John Harrington's time as chief. His six-year term started in 2004.

City Attorney Sara Grewing says larger conclusions shouldn't be drawn from the recent cases because the decision to settle is based on what's in the best financial interest of the city.

President of the St. Paul NAACP, Jeff Martin, says an officer who costs the city and taxpayers this sort of money should be held to a higher standard.