City Council committee OKs $200K settlement for strip search

By Angel K. Brooks

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Atlanta City Council's public safety committee voted Tuesday to approve a $200,000 settlement to two men who alleged that they were inappropriately strip searched by Atlanta police officers, Channel 2 Action News reports.

The entire Council will vote Aug. 15 on the settlement.

The two men -- Sean Venegas and Brian Kidd -- alleged officer misconduct connected to a traffic stop on Fulton Street in June 2010, Channel 2 said.

In an exclusive interview with the station earlier this year, Kidd said members of the Red Dog unit pulled over Venegas' vehicle, then forced Venegas to pull down his pants on the side of the road while they looked for drugs. Kidd said an officer also reached down his pants to search for drugs.

Officers Cayenne Mayes and Travis Britt were found to have violated the department's search and seizure rules and given written letters of reprimand after an internal affairs investigation, Channel 2 said. The third officer was cleared.

The Red Dog unit, which also was involved in the controversial 2009 raid on the Atlanta Eagle bar that led to a $1 million settlement, has since been disbanded.

Mayes was fired in connection with that raid.