A man arrested for ‘stealing’ his own car stands to become a millionaire as the BBC reports the city of Evanston, Illinois has decided to settle an embarrassing lawsuit.
The initial incident occurred on October 10th, 2015 when a woman called 911 and told the dispatcher that she saw a black man in a hoodie using a bar to break into a car. A number of different officers responded to the scene and pulled over Lawrence Crosby who was simply driving his Chevrolet Volt.
As you can see in dashcam footage, that was released two years ago, Crosby calmly exits the vehicle and put his hands in the air as instructed by police. Officers then yell at Crosby to get on the ground and then rush to tackle him roughly two seconds later.
Crosby then explains the entire incident was a mistake and that he owns the vehicle. He goes on to say he was simply trying to “fix something on the roof” and that’s presumably why the woman thought he was trying to break into the car.
Crosby was allegedly punched at least ten times and was charged with disobeying police and resisting arrest. Crosby was later acquitted – although some reports suggest the charges were dismissed – and then filed suit against the city and its officers.
The city has confirmed it will settle with Crosby and his lawyer has told publications he will be awarded $1.25 million (£957,800 / €1.1 million). However, that isn’t official as the city won’t vote on the settlement until next week.