Actually, I like it. City pays a penalty for police officers' excessive force, but the convict doesn't get rewarded for trying to kill a cop, and the lawyers get rewarded for pursuing a righteous cause while representing a scumbag. Wins all around.
Actually it sucks. You can't penalize a City, only the tax payers, already poorly served by the police and the administrators.
There was no financial loss in this case. A penalty laid on the tax payers does not compensate for a wrong. A lawyer got fat and no progress was made.
Governments do not do wrong actions. Administrators and employees do. Termination is the appropriate action, unless jail time is also in order.
Maybe Alabama is under-rated in this thread? http://sportstwo.com/threads/272768-STATES-OF-CORRUPTION