The city of Champaign has agreed to settle a second lawsuit filed against the Champaign police department in a case involving the same officer. The department had tried to fire Officer Matt Rush, but he’s back on patrol, thanks to a police union arbitrator.
As IPR's Hannah Meisel reports, documents just released explain why Rush kept his job. A warning--some of the audio in this report might be disturbing.
The second settlement between Rush and the city of Champaign is for $225,000. Rush faces separate lawsuits alleging the use of excessive force filed by three plaintiffs. According to documents released by police, Rush has been among the police department's leaders in both arrests made and use-of-force incidents.