COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) -- Columbus Council voted unanimously Tuesday afternoon to settle a civil lawsuit brought against the city and three police officers in the 2017 death of Hector Arreola.
The city agreed to pay the Arreola estate $500,000 to end all claims against the city and its employees. The settlement agreement comes less than a month before the case was scheduled for trial in federal court.
"The mayor and council concluded that the settlement was in the best interest of the Consolidated Government, law enforcement, and all citizens of Columbus," a statement from the city read.
That statement was handed to a reporter moments after the council vote. It came after a nine-minute executive session.
U.S. District Court Judge Clay Land denied a second motion for stay filed by the defense in the civil case of Hector Arreola’s death.
Lawyers for Officer Michael Aguilar, Officer Brian Dudley, and Officer Aaron Evrard were asking for a postponement because of the possibility of criminal charges. Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit District Attorney Mark Jones has appointed private attorney Chris Breault as a special prosecutor. They plan to present the case to a Grand Jury.
Mayor Skip Henderson said the civil settlement has no impact on potential criminal charges.
This was the second motion filed for stay by the defense in the civil case. The original trial date was set for June 7th, but was pushed back to August 9th.
Hector Arreola died while in police custody in January 2017 originally a Georgia medical examiner ruled Arreola’s death was caused by methamphetamine toxicity. In August 2020 a GBI medical examiner ruled the death a homicide.
The official autopsy document was changed to read “sudden cardiac death following a struggle with law enforcement including prone position restraint complicating acute methamphetamine toxicity.”
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