$65,000 settlement reached in lawsuit against Joliet police officer, records show

A $65,000 settlement was reached in a 2018 federal lawsuit against a Joliet police officer over claims that a man was unlawfully arrested in 2016.

The City of Joliet agreed to pay $65,000 to Milbert Waters in exchange for him dropping his lawsuit against Joliet Police Officer Nicholas Crowley and the city, according to the settlement agreement obtained by The Herald-News in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

The settlement agreement signed by Waters on May 1, said that he and his attorney, Brandon Brown, agreed to not make “disparaging or degrading remarks” about the city or any of its employees “regarding the events alleged” in Waters’ lawsuit.

“Plaintiff agrees that $100 of this settlement is consideration for this confidentiality and non-disparagement,” the settlement agreement said.

Calls to Brown, and one of the city’s attorneys, Glenn David Mathues, were not immediately returned on Thursday.

On Aug. 7, 2018, Waters filed a lawsuit against Crowley, Joliet Police Officer Arthur Arellano and the city of Joliet over allegations that Waters was unlawfully arrested on a driving under the influence charge in 2016.

Waters’ lawsuit alleged he was not violating any traffic laws and there was no probable cause or legal justification for his DUI arrest in 2016.

Attorneys for the city denied the allegations. Arellano was dropped as a defendant in the case on Aug. 3, 2022.

Waters’ lawsuit is one of three that have been filed against Crowley since 2018. The lawsuit is the second of those three that has ended in a settlement.

Last year, plaintiff Amanda Brown filed a lawsuit that alleged Crowley used excessive force on her during a 2020 traffic stop.

The city of Joliet agreed to pay Brown $15,200 in exchange for her dropping her claims.

In 2018, plaintiff Christopher Simenson sued Crowley and the city of Joliet in federal court over allegations that Crowley injured him during a 2016 arrest.

In 2021, a jury ruled in Simenson’s favor and awarded him about $7,770 in compensatory damages.