BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The City of Gainesville and two Gainesville Police Department officers have settled a lawsuit filed by three Colliers International employees in exchange for a total payment of $60,000.

Jason Hurst, Nicola Moreland, and Bennett Harrell sued the City, Gainesville Police Department (GPD), Detective Ronald A. Pinkston, and SWAT Team Commander Lieutenant M. West, along with other unnamed defendants, in July 2022, alleging that the decision to use the SWAT Team to serve a warrant against other Colliers employees in June 2021 was not justified and that officers violated the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights by detaining them and seizing their electronic devices during the execution of the warrant. GPD was later dropped from the lawsuit.

Read Related Also: Crime Stories with Nancy Grace: Married Female Cheerleading Coach Sex W/ Boy Student?

Criminal charges were filed against Colliers International employees Daniel Drotos and Michael Ryals in August 2021, but all charges were dropped in November 2022.

The settlement, which was signed on June 19, pays $60,000 to the plaintiffs and requires them to release all defendants from any future actions related to the incident. The settlement does not admit any liability on the part of any of the defendants in the lawsuit and specifically says they “continue to deny any liability from the incident in question. [All parties] have agreed to resolve this matter solely to avoid the expense and uncertainty of further litigation.”

Attorney Jeff Childers, who represented the defendants, said, “My clients were grateful and satisfied with the City’s settlement and feel confident that the City will carefully consider its SWAT policy going forward.”