Ramsey County To Pay $525,000 To Former Inmate After Brutal Beating

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- More than half a million dollars has been awarded to a former jail inmate for a brutal beating that was caught on camera.

The Ramsey County Commission voted unanimously Tuesday morning to give $525,000 dollars to Terrell Wilson.

The beating happened in April 2016 after Wilson, who is also known as Terrell Johnson, was arrested for theft.

Video of the incident did not surface until earlier this year.

Shortly after the video was released, Ramsey County Deputy Travis Vandewiele resigned. The 13 minutes captured on video starts with Wilson being hauled out of a squad car.

"Let me breathe, just please let me breathe," he says in the video.

With his hands cuffed behind his back and a spit guard mask on his face, Wilson is pushed by one deputy and pulled by another as they try to strap him into a chair. Vandewiele can be seen kneeing Johnson in the stomach.

"You ain't seen excessive force yet," Vandewiele says.

"Please don't kill me, please don't kill me, I'm sorry," exclaims Wilson.

The Ramsey County Commissioners met behind closed doors for about half an hour before announcing they had agreed to the $525,000 award.

"It's a point in time for us as a community to be able to start healing and moving forward," said Ramsey County Commission Chair Jim McDonough.

The award was not a surprise because Commissioners had previously condemned the deputies actions that were captured on video.

At the February 26 Commission meeting, Commissioner Toni Carter said, "there is a strand of vicious Jim Crow-like culture that continues to exist even into this very day."

Commissioner Carter stressed the decision for the large award was unanimous.

"As Ramsey County Commissioners we are simply resolute and unanimous in our determination. We have to be both fair and just for the individual as well as for our community," said Commissioner Carter.

Attorney Mike Padden represents Terrell Wilson.

"He didn't remember everything," said Padden. "He did have some traumatic amnesia so it was hard for him to see it."

Padden says Wilson is ready to move on with his life.

"My client is happy with the result," he said.

In addition to resigning, Vandewiele was charged by the Minneapolis City Attorney's Office with two counts of fifth-degree assault, a misdemeanor.

As part of a plea agreement, he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and paid a $150 fine.