SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Diego County has agreed to pay $1.2 million to settle a lawsuit that claimed sheriff's deputies violated civil rights by pepper-spraying guests and arresting two women at a fundraiser for a congressional candidate.
George Brewster of the county counsel's office says the federal lawsuit was dismissed last week. The county didn't acknowledge any wrongdoing.
He says eight people will get the money.
The lawsuit claimed that a deputy answering a noise complaint went overboard when he pepper-sprayed guests at a June 2009 fundraiser in Cardiff for congressional candidate Francine Busby.
Sixty-year-old Shari Barman and 62-year-old Pamela Morgan were arrested during a confrontation and Barman spent a night in jail. They were never charged with a crime.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.
