Posted by Hal Dardick at 1:25 p.m.
A key City Council committee today recommended settling for $700,000 a civil rights claim filed against Chicago Police and the city that accused officers of clubbing and injuring a man without cause.
The settlement, set to be considered Wednesday by the full council, relates to a July 2008 early morning incident at the Southwest Side home of Gustavo Arreola and his son, Juan-Carlos Arreola.
Police accused the younger Arreola of toting a gun, and a scuffle among police and family members occurred, according to the suit filed by the family. At one point, Guatavo Arreola was hit in the head with a weapon of some kind, causing a bloody skull fracture, the suit alleged.
Police have denied the claims, but charges of obstruction and aggravated assault against four of the family members, including Gustavo Arreola, were either dismissed or failed to hold up in court, according to a city Law Department press release.