A civil-rights lawsuit stemming from a Seattle police officer’s threat to beat the “Mexican piss” out of a Latino man during a robbery investigation has been settled for $150,000 for causing emotional distress, reports the Seattle Times. Plaintiff’s attorney Lorena Gonzalez complained that when she deposed the officers involved in the incident, “all of the responding officers who were white saw absolutely nothing wrong” with the comment, while the sole officer of color on the scene that night was the only one to characterize it as a racial slur.
Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes said officer Shandy Cobane’s “use of language was unacceptable and unprofessional, having no place in policing. However, my duty to defend the city’s treasury and its employees required a vigorous defense when presented with the $750,000 claim for damages.” Cobane sparked a public outcry when video emerged of the April 17, 2010, incident in which he was heard telling Martin Monetti he would “beat the (expletive) Mexican piss out of you, homey. You feel me?”