Jury Awards Man $100,000 in NYPD Excessive Force Case

A federal jury has awarded $100,000 to a dishwasher who had his finger broken during a police struggle in 2012.

His attorneys say Rodger Ricketts was ordered off a Brooklyn subway train and hit with a metal baton after he walked between cars.

According to the Daily News, police said Reyes was hit on the hand as he reached for a knife that dropped out of his clothing. He also was pepper-sprayed.

Police described him as combative. His lawyers said Ricketts, who has a fifth-grade education, apparently didn't understand why he was being searched and questioned.

A spokeswoman says the city's Law Department respects the jury process but is disappointed in the verdict.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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