City settles lawsuit after Seattle police officers use Taser on pregnant woman

SEATTLE -- The city has agreed to pay to settle a lawsuit filed after police used a Taser on a pregnant woman during a traffic stop back in 2004.

The city will pay Malaika Brooks $45,000, but officials are not admitting any wrongdoing on the part of the officers.

Brooks filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in 2006 against Seattle and the three officers involved in the stop. She was pregnant when the Taser was used on her in what is called "drive stun" mode.

Federal claims were dismissed in 2011 by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Brooks later filed state claims against the officers which resulted in this settlement.

“After almost eight years of litigation, we are pleased to have this matter resolved,” Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes said. “We stood behind our officers throughout the years that this dispute has been pending and that does not change with this settlement.”

The Seattle Police Department now restricts the use of Taser on pregnant women to "exceptional circumstance."