Overview

• City Council voted unanimously to authorize a global payout that closes 176 lawsuits tied to former Sgt. Ronald Watts.
• The agreement covers 180 people who collectively spent nearly 200 years behind bars after wrongful drug convictions.
• Individual awards will range from about $150,000 to more than $3 million based on time served and harm.
• Corporation Counsel Mary Richardson-Lowry said the package costs far less than the roughly $500 million projected for litigating cases individually.
• The administration has discussed using a line of credit, while broader liabilities persist from other police-misconduct portfolios such as Guevara and Burge cases.