City Settles Occupy Wall Street Scooter Suit With $145K Pay Out

FINANCIAL DISTRICT, NY — After a lengthy legal battle, the city settled with an Occupy Wall Street legal observer for $145,000 Tuesday.

Plaintiff Ariel Douglas, who was hit by a NYPD scooter during an Occupy Wall Street march in October, 2011, reached a deal with the city mere weeks before the case was set for trial. The settlement is a welcome end to the seven year legal debacle, but makes up little for the ordeal Douglas went through, said his lawyer Jeffrey Rothman.

"There really is no way that money can compensate him from all that he went through — he was dragged and manhandled and bloodied up, charged with a crime, then the civil litigation," Rothman told Patch. "So he feels vindicated and he’s very satisfied that he was able to win this case, but he’s still very angry."

Disturbing video showed what appeared to be a NYPD scooter run over the leg of Douglas, a legal observer from the National Lawyers Guild.

Douglas can be seen in the video screaming with his left foot wedged under the back wheel of the scooter near Maiden Lane in the Financial District.

The Local East Village blog captured the chaotic 2011 scene:

The NYPD claimed Douglas faked and incident and charged him with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, obstruction of governmental administration and two counts of criminal mischief.

All criminal charges were dismissed.

Douglas pressed forward with his lawsuit against the city for violating his federal civil rights. The case was initially thrown out by a federal judge, but reinstated by the federal court of appeals before the settlement was brokered.

Douglas will receive $35,000 with the remaining $110,000 going toward years of legals fees for Rothman.

“Settling this case was in the best interests of the City,” said a spokesman for the city's Law Department.

Police arrest Ariel Douglas after he was struck by a NYPD scooter during an Occupy Wall Street protest in the Financial District. (Photo courtesy of AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)