Tulsa City Council Questions Police Lawsuit Settlement

By Emory Bryan, The News on 6

TULSA, OK -- The Tulsa City Council has more questions about a $150,000 settlement the city has agreed to pay.

During its meeting Tuesday morning, council members wanted to know why outside counsel was hired to represent the city and how much the outside firm is charging the city.

4/19/2010 Related story: City Of Tulsa Settles Tulsa Police Department Beating Lawsuit

"While this is a serious matter and a serious lawsuit, it is not complex." Westcott questioned why the city legal department chose to hire outside counsel rather than handle the case internally," said City Councilor Rick Westcott.

Attorney David Ross, who assisted outside counsel with the case, told councilors if the city had not settled, the projected cost of continuing the legal battle would have ranged from $60,000 - $100,000 in addition to what's been spent already.

Ross did not have an estimate of what legal fees the city had already incurred.

The City of Tulsa will not directly pay the plaintiff's legal fees.

If the case had gone to trial and the City of Tulsa lost the case, councilors were told the City would be liable for attorney's fees in addition to the judgment in the case.