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Abner Louima was a Haitian immigrant who was brutalized by New York City police officers when he was arrested after a brawl outside a Brooklyn nightclub in 1997.
The arresting officers beat Louima in the squad car, and later sexually abused him in a bathroom at the Brooklyn 70th Precinct station house. Officer Justin Volpe sodomized Louima with a broomstick while he was handcuffed behind his back, causing severe internal damage to his intestines and bladder that required several operations to repair.
Volpe pled guilty to assault and was sentenced to thirty years in prison. Another officer was convicted for pinning Louima down during the assault, and four others were convicted of lying to authorities.
The incident provoked outrage among the Haitian and other minority communities in New York City as well as nationally.
Louima's subsequent civil suit against the city resulted in a settlement of $8.75 million, the largest police brutality settlement in New York City history.
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