Lakeland officials have agreed to pay $125,000 to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit over excessive use of force by Lakeland Police Department.
City commissioners voted in a closed door meeting the morning of Sept. 21 to settle a 2022 lawsuit from Kim Saddlers against the City of Lakeland and former police officers Chad Landry and Benjamin Blommel.
“The City Commission voted this morning to settle the federal civil rights case of Kim Saddlers vs. City of Lakeland, Benjamin Blommel and Chad Landry for $125,000. Ms. Saddlers was bitten at her apartment complex by a police K-9 in March 2019 while officers were searching for a suspect in an unrelated crime. She sued the City and former officers Blommel and Landry for false arrest, excessive force and negligence. The settlement resolves all claims against each defendant,” City Attorney Palmer Davis said in an emailed statement on Sept. 21…