By
Curt Prendergast
After
failing to comply with a lawsuit settlement, the City of Nogales agreed on
Wednesday to pay another $25,000 to a man falsely arrested by Nogales police
for allegedly possessing child pornography.
The
payout settles allegations by Gary Murray that the Nogales Police Department
violated a previous settlement agreement, in which the city paid him $50,000,
by destroying the property seized during a search of his home.
On
Wednesday, the Nogales City Council voted unanimously to approve the new
settlement, which was included as the last item in the meeting’s consent
agenda.
The
original lawsuit, filed in Pima County Superior Court and then transferred to
U.S. District Court in May 2009, stemmed from an incident in May 2008 when
Nogales police officers arrested Murray on a felony charge of allegedly
possessing child pornography.
Murray
was booked into the county jail and police officers obtained a warrant to
search his home, where they seized a number of items.
However,
the County Attorney’s Office dismissed the charges after reviewing the gathered
evidence and concluding there was no evidence to support the allegation,
according to the lawsuit.
Murray
sued the city for false arrest, false imprisonment, unreasonable search and
seizure, and infliction of emotional harm, as well as casting him in a false
light in the community.
In
April 2013, Murray and the city reached a settlement agreement in which the
city would pay Murray $50,000 and Murray would drop the charges, according to a
lawsuit filed in June 2013.
“In
spite of the order and settlement, the County Attorney issued a letter to the
NPD authorizing the destruction of the seized items,” said City Attorney Jose
Luis Machado in an interview Tuesday.
The
destruction of the unspecified items occurred after NPD officers were notified
they were required to return the property as part of the settlement agreement,
according to the June 2013 lawsuit.
Machado
sent a letter to then-NPD Chief Jeffrey Kirkham in May 2012 advising him to
return the property, and the attorney representing Kirkham sent a similar
letter to Kirkham “immediately after the settlement agreement.” However, only a
portion of Murray’s property was returned to him, the lawsuit alleged.
Murray
sued the city for $100,000 in damages, but the city refused to offer more than
$25,000 and Murray eventually accepted the offer, Machado said.
The
County Attorney’s Office was not included in either of the lawsuits, he said.