Police Chief Zunk states that whenever the city loses a civil lawsuit involving an officer, it leads to a review of policies and procedures, but that the awarding of a large sum of money to a plaintiff "merely serves to give us less resources to use in our battle against crime."50 According to the city's Office of Corporation Counsel, in Fiscal Year (FY) 1994 there were seven settlements or jury awards paid, totaling $59,380; in FY 1995, there were eleven totaling $581,750, and in FY 1996, there were three totaling $104,294.51 (In 1996, there was a $3.55 million jury verdict award in favor of the family of Michael Taylor, which is now on appeal.) According to the Indiana Civil Liberties Union, which files civil lawsuits against police officers, there is a usually a high level of sympathy among jurors toward officers, making pre-trial settlements by the city less common.52

50 Letter to Human Rights Watch from Chief Zunk, January 26, 1998.

51 Telephone inquiry with Greg Ray of the Office of Corporation Counsel, July 28, 1997.

52 Interview with Sheila Kennedy, ICLU, August 18, 1995.