City of Palmer settles in case filed by ACLU

PALMER — Andres Alexander Caceda-Mantilla settled with the city of Palmer for $50,000 and an apology for the events after a fight at Klondike Mike’s in Palmer in August of 2017.

The ACLU filed a lawsuit against individual officers from the Palmer Police Department who detained Caceda based on his immigration status after an altercation broke out at the popular Palmer bar. The lawsuit filed on March 22 was in response to the fight that broke out and subsequent detainment of Caceda-Mantilla in August of 2017. At a Palmer City Council meeting last week, members were unhappy that the decision to reach the settlement had been made without their involvement.

“I don’t know who gave the authorization to settle this case because it certainly wasn’t this body sitting around this table. I can’t say that it would’ve been any different but I think you have an obligation to us as the policy makers,” Palmer Mayor Edna DeVries said.

DeVries said that attorney Michael Gatti had brought lawsuits before the council in executive session before when they were settling for much less. Deputy Mayor Richard Best was among those who chimed in with disappointment.

“It’s unfortunate we did not have the chance to have that discussion. With that being said, I think this sets a dangerous precedent in the state. I think other municipalities are going to be subjected to lawsuits like this and it is, in my mind, this lawsuit going after our officers, I felt was inappropriate,” Best said.

Caceda-Mantilla was awarded $50,000, $40,000 of which came from the city’s insurance and another $10,000 was paid by the city. Stipulations were added to policy regarding arrest procedures that were agreed upon by both parties.

“The Palmer Police Department values the diverse population of the community it serves,” reads one of the policy changes. “Officers shall not stop or detain any individual based solely on the knowledge or suspicion that the person is in the United States without authorization.”

The PPD can still alert ICE or any other agency of criminal activity of a person of interest. The city did not admit fault by PPD and the dismissal of prejudice means that the case cannot be re-filed for further damages at a later date. The agreement differentiates between criminal stops and administrative stops which ICE has authority to do. The city continues to deny any liability, but does say that they are sorry for the inconvenience.

“We do regret the inconvenience we may cause folks,” City Manager Nathan Wallace said. “Our insurance covered this with the 10,000 deductible that the city paid. So that’s how that 50,000 was paid for and that’s why we have insurance for items that come up like this.”

The case was heard in Palmer Superior court.