The San Diego City Council is poised to approve a quarter million dollar settlement in the case of a homeless woman assaulted by a San Diego police officer in 2013.
The council will formally vote on the consent item at their regular meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 3.
If approved, the city will have paid out $2.42 million dollars in settlement money in seven cases involving former Officer Christopher Hays. That figure, according to the city’s risk management department.
Hays served a 5-month jail sentence beginning in late 2014. He was named in a string of seven assaults that lasted for more than a year starting in August 2012.
He pleaded guilty to charges of false imprisonment and assault under the color of authority.
In the case to be voted on next Tuesday by the council, the victim was a homeless woman was digging in a trash bin for recyclable materials when she was approached by Hays. Attorney Dan Gilleon said his client was taken to a home and groped for at least three minutes.
The incident occurred in December 2013.
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"It was terrifying for her because she’s already living in a situation where she’s vulnerable to lots of men," said Gilleon.
Gilleon represented four of the seven victims in cases against Hays.
"Every one of these women had very troubled lives leading into these encounters with Mr. Hays,” said Gilleon.
