Dallas City Council Approves $500,000 Settlement for Motorcyclist Whose Beating Was Caught on Police Dash-Cam

Dallas, Texas

The Dallas City Council recently voted to pay $500,000 to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit in the beating by police officers of a motorcyclist.

The incident happened in September 2010, involving a chase between motorcyclist Andrew Collins and Dallas Police. The beating was captured on the dashboard cameras of the responding officers, including Paul Bauer, Henry Duetsch and Kevin Randolph, all of whom were fired after the incident.

The City Council approved the settlement without discussion. A city attorney has declined to comment on the case.

“It was a good resolution to a bad situation,” said Collins’ attorney, Don Tittle. “It was an acknowledgment from the city that Mr. Collins’ civil rights had been seriously violated.”

Criminal charges are pending against the three former officers.

According to police, Bauer and Randolph spotted Collins riding his motorcycle on a South Dallas sidewalk. He fled from them. A police sergeant ordered the officers not to give chase, but they ignored the order, authorities have said.

The chase ended a short distance later when a patrol car clipped Collins’ motorcycle. An offense report written by Randolph did not indicate that the squad car had hit Collins. Instead, it stated that the officers simply found him “wrecked out.”

According to the lawsuit, Collins dropped to the ground and spread his arms and legs and was not resisting when officers tried to take him into custody.

Dash-cam footage showed Randolph striking Collins at least four times with his baton and Bauer hitting him with his fists and knee. The officers accused Collins of resisting arrest and said they hit him to get him under control.

A short time later, Duetsch arrived at the scene. Another car’s video showed Duetsch adjusting a camera, allegedly in an effort to conceal a portion of the arrest.