The city councilman who chairs the council's public safety committee has asked the Police Department for a response to a story in the Daily Record about a police misconduct lawsuit that was secretly settled for $200,000 earlier this year, the legal newspaper reported last week.

Councilman James Kraft wants Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III to respond to the article and others about recent settlements, and outline any actions taken to address concerns raised by them. The mayor's office and solicitor's office have already said they stick by their contention that it was the plaintiff's decision to push for confidentiality to settle a claim of wrongful arrest, while the plaintiff's attorney says that is untrue and has provided emails and letters to support his claim.  

Kraft's letter to Bealefeld, meanwhile, seeks clarity on two things police rarely discuss, even when called into council chambers - internal discipline and lawsuits. The response, as spokesman Anthony Guglielmi tells Daily Record reporter in that article, is typically a general overview of the training programs Bealefeld has put in place. We'll see if the council can get any more specifics in this instance.