The Village of Oak Lawn has agreed to pay $825,000 to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by a man who was repeatedly punched by an Oak Lawn police officer as he was pinned to the ground while he was a teenager in 2022.
On Tuesday, the village board voted to approve the $825,000 settlement of 21-year-old Hadi Abuatelah’s lawsuit. In a statement, the village said it agreed to settle the case “not because of the merits of the case, but because the Village’s insurance carrier was pushing for the settlement.”
The village will pay $250,000 of the settlement, with its insurance carrier paying the rest…