Riverhead Town agrees to pay $350G to settle federal lawsuit

Riverhead Town has agreed to pay $350,000 to settle a federal lawsuit filed in 1996 by Anthony Wayne Smith, who charged that he was falsely arrested at a bus stop, that two police officers used unreasonable force in his arrest, and that he was remanded for psychiatric testing without cause.

The town board approved the settlement at its meeting Tuesday, although details of the settlement were not in the resolution.

Smith had sought $2.4 million from the town.

Riverhead town attorney Robert Kozakiewicz said that insurance should cover 90 percent of the settlement cost.