Settlement talk set in case against former DMPD officer

Attorneys on all sides of a civil rights lawsuit against the city of Des Moines and imprisoned former police officer Colin Boone will meet for settlement talks in mid-December.

A lawyer representing Orville Hill filed the federal lawsuit in February, accusing the department and its former chief, Judy Bradshaw, of being negligent by keeping Boone on the police force despite a history of using excessive force during arrests, among other claims.

On Feb. 19, 2013, Hill was being restrained by several officers following a traffic stop when Boone ran up to him and kicked him in the head with enough force to knock teeth out of Hill's mouth and break a bone in his nose, according to the lawsuit. The incident started when Hill, suffering from a seizure, crashed his minivan on Des Moines' south side and became too disoriented to communicate with officers.

Boone was fired from the department for the kick, and a federal grand jury indicted him in December 2013. A jury in March convicted Boone of unreasonable use of force after two trials, and he was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison.

Lawyers representing Hill and Boone, Bradshaw and the city — all named as defendants — will meet with U.S. Magistrate Judge Helen Adams on Dec. 15 to negotiate a potential settlement of the lawsuit. Hill's attorney, Matthew Boles, was not immediately available to speak with a reporter.

In a Nov. 4 order, Adams asked for the defendants to have a settlement offer prepared and given to Hill ahead of the hearing. A jury trial is currently scheduled for July if no settlement is reached.

Hill's lawsuit is the second time that a report of excessive force by Boone landed the city in civil court. The Des Moines City Council in 2013 approved a $52,000 settlement payment to Dawn Dooley, who claimed Boone fractured her arm during a 2009 OWI arrest. The incident involving Dooley is mentioned in Hill's lawsuit as evidence that Bradshaw and the city knew about Boone's problems, but kept him on the force.

Boone is currently serving his sentence at a federal correctional institution in Arkansas, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The city is paying for West Des Moines lawyer Scott Beattie to represent the former officer in the lawsuit.