Former Oakland cop gets $1.5M settlement in 'Riders' case

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 6/28/7 | Henry K. Lee

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OAKLAND -- A former Oakland police officer acquitted of charges that he framed people as a member of "the Riders" will receive $1.5 million to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit in which he claimed he was slandered, officials said today.

Matt Hornung, 35, will receive the money as part of a settlement with the city's insurance carrier, Kemper Insurance Companies, said Erica Harrold, spokeswoman for Oakland City Attorney John Russo.

"The city had no part in the settlement. No taxpayer money was used to pay Hornung," Harrold said today. "The city neither consented nor objected to this settlement. It was a business decision by Kemper."

Hornung said today of the settlement, "It's a compromise. There were no winners in this."

He said he and his wife, Tai, a San Leandro police officer, "just want to move on and raise our daughters, ages 1 and 3."

The settlement is the latest chapter in a saga that began in 2000 when four members of what authorities called a rogue band of officers were accused of routinely planting evidence and beating suspects in West Oakland. All four officers were fired.

Harrold noted that the settlement notwithstanding, "Hornung will not get his job back. His termination stands."

Two criminal trials ended in mistrials. Jurors acquitted Hornung on several counts in the first trial, and another jury cleared him of all charges in the second.

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"The city had no part in the settlement. No taxpayer money was used to pay Hornung," Harrold said today. "The city neither consented nor objected to this settlement. It was a business decision by Kemper."

Except the taxpayers pay the premiums for the insurance. Another dim bulb that thinks the moner is hers.