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City of Phoenix agrees to settle suit over 2011 jail death

Posted at 2:33 PM, May 14, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-14 17:33:11-04

The city of Phoenix has agreed to settle a lawsuit over the 2011 death of a mentally ill man who was arrested by its police officers and later died in a jail run by then-Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

The settlement comes two months after Maricopa County, the jail's operator, had paid $7 million to Ernest Atencio's family.

The city's settlement was reached in late April.

The amount of Phoenix's settlement hasn't been publicly released.

The figure, however, is expected to be revealed when the Phoenix City Council votes on the settlement.

The lawsuit accuses a Phoenix officer of attacking Atencio at the jail after he refused to take off one of his shoes.

It alleges Arpaio's officers joined in and formed a "dog pile" atop the inmate.