St. Paul man tasered in city skyway by police will receive $100K lawsuit settlement

The St. Paul City Council is expected to sign off on a $100,000 lawsuit settlement involving a man shot with a Taser in a skyway by police in 2014.

Chris V. Lollie, 29, sought $500,000 in damages, saying that his constitutional rights were violated and that police falsified reports. A five-minute video he made of the incident grabbed national attention for the officers' actions and Lollie's assertion that he was targeted for sitting in the skyway because he is black. The officers — Lori Hayne, Michael Johnson and Bruce Schmidt — are white.

Lollie was sitting in a First National Bank skyway lounge in January 2014 waiting to pick up his children from day care when a security guard told him the space was for tenants. When he refused to leave and allegedly resisted arrest, he was subdued by police with a Taser.

He posted his video on YouTube the following August, months after his cellphone was returned to him by police. Lollie's arrest led Mayor Chris Coleman to ask the city's Police-Civilian Internal Affairs Review Commission to investigate. Police Chief Thomas Smith defended his officers' actions when the YouTube video was posted, but said he welcomed the scrutiny and pledged that the process would be "very transparent."

The commission cleared the officers of improper procedure and excessive use of force.

The City Council will vote on the settlement next week.

DAVID CHANEN