New York Man Awarded $1.5M in UOF Suit Calls for Mayor to Hire Outside Chief

A Syracuse man who was awarded $1.5 million for an incident in which he accused police of using excessive force in his arrest has asked the mayor to hire the next police chief from outside the agency.

In June 2014, 57-year-old Alonzo Grant called police to help him with a family dispute, according to Syracuse.com . During the incident, responding officers became engaged in a physical confrontation in which Grant suffered concussion, a broken nose, and other injuries.

Grant filed suit with the city. A jury on Tuesday awarded $1,130,000 to Grant. The jury awarded his wife Stephanie $450,000.

Grant and his wife said in recent interviews that they hope that Mayor Ben Walsh—elected in the fall of 2017—will hire the next police chief from outside the department.

Grant's wife reportedly said, "I believe the city can do better."

Syracuse Police Benevolent Association President Jeff Piedmonte said that the evidence brought to the proceedings unfairly prejudiced evidence against Officers Damon Lockett and Paul Montalto.

"We continue to believe our officers acted properly in what was a very difficult situation," attorney Kristen Smith said in a written statement.