Ramsey County will now pay $75,000 to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit accusing the sheriff’s office of excessive force against a 65-year-old Black man during a confrontation with deputies in 2020. 

Michael Torrey-White was using a walker outside his apartment in Falcon Heights when he was tackled, handcuffed and detained by a deputy who was looking for a suspect described as a Black male in his late 30s.

A judge dismissed charges of obstructing the legal process and disorderly conduct against Torrey-White, who first spoke with 5 INVESTIGATES in 2022.

Torrey-White later sued Ramsey County with assistance from the nonprofit Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB) and attorney Paul Bosman.

The incident was recorded on body camera and dash camera video, obtained by 5 INVESTIGATES in 2023 after a yearlong fight for data in the case.  

“(An) elderly man with his walker, taken to the ground by a sheriff’s deputy on suspicion of being a suspect who just outran a car, when the only similarity between them was that they were both Black,” Bosman said.

Ramsey County declined to comment on the settlement, which came before the Board of Commissioners in closed session earlier this month.

Torrey-White’s attorney acknowledged the amount of the settlement might seem low to some observers, considering other high-profile excessive force cases around the Twin Cities in recent years.

“I think we could easily prove that they violated his rights,” Bosman said. “I think we could prove that they used excessive force, but what it comes down to is how long did they hold him and how badly was he hurt?”

He said Torrey-White has not received an apology. Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.

“Mr. Torrey-White will be all right,” Bosman said. “We want to make sure that doesn’t happen to anyone else.”