City Settles Two Lawsuits Against Former Cops

The San Diego City Council signed off today on two additional settlements involving lawsuits filed by victims of a former police officer who was sent to prison for demanding sexual favors from female drivers in the Gaslamp Quarter.   

Without comment, the council settled with one woman for $170,000 and another for $75,000. The vote came as part of the council's consent agenda.   

The woman to receive $170,000 testified that ex-Officer Anthony Arevalos cupped her breasts three times during a January 2010 traffic stop. The other woman testified that she suffered a panic attack when the 18-year veteran officer stopped her as she stumbled to her car and made suggestive remarks in January 2011.   

Their settlements pale in comparison to a $675,000 payout approved for a third woman last month. She testified that Arevalos pulled her over around 2 a.m. on Oct. 22, 2010, and asked if her breasts were real. She said Arevalos told her that if she showed her breasts and let him put his hand down her pants, he would let her go, so she stared straight ahead and let him reach into her jeans and touch her private parts.    The officer was convicted of eight felony and four misdemeanor charges involving five women, including multiple counts of sexual battery by restraint, asking for a bribe and assault and battery by a police officer. He was sentenced to nearly nine years in prison.

—City News Service