Tentative settlement reached in Frank Jude Jr. beating case

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- A biracial man severely beaten by off-duty white police officers in 2004 has reached a tentative $2 million settlement with the city of Milwaukee, the man's attorney said Friday.

Seven former officers were convicted in the October 2004 beating of Frank Jude Jr. outside an off-duty police drinking party in Milwaukee. Jude filed the civil rights lawsuit in 2006. According to the notice of claim, he had asked for $30 million in damages, but the lawsuit did not ask for an amount.

Jude's attorney, Jon Safran, confirmed the $2 million settlement Friday but said neither he nor Jude could comment further until the settlement is approved by the Common Council and Mayor Tom Barrett.

Common Council President Willie Hines said the aldermen will likely have questions and it's too soon to say if they will approve it. "We will listen to the city attorneys and be very attentive to their guidance and their recommendations,'' he said Friday.

Barrett's chief of staff, Patrick Curley, said the mayor's office was briefed on the tentative settlement Friday but had no comment.

Jude, now 33, had said a group of white men who identified themselves as off-duty police officers threw him to the ground, threatened him with a knife and a gun, cut or tore his clothes and repeatedly punched and kicked him in his head. He said he also heard racial slurs.

The lawsuit named seven officers and one of their wives, but Safran said the settlement was with the city and it would be up to the city to seek anything from them.