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Boston Spent More Than $36M In Settlements With Police During Past Decade

Boston spent more than $36 million to resolve 2,000 legal claims and lawsuits against the Boston Police Department over the past decade.

The Boston Globe reports most of the money was spent on cases alleging wrongful convictions or police misconduct.

The bulk of the city's payouts, $31 million, went to 22 cases settling for at least $100,000. Nine of those 22 awards were for more than $1 million apiece.

Mayor Martin Walsh says he can't speak in detail about the volume or nature of the cases due to many of the settlements predating his administration.

Attorney Howard Friedman says the payouts could've resulted in even larger verdicts had the city not agreed to settle.

Boston settled five wrongful conviction cases for $3 million or more since 2004.

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