City of Reno approves $220,000 settlement with man after 2022 arrest altercation following hit-and-run

A $220,000 payment by the city’s Risk Management Fund was approved this week by Reno's City Council for a man in connection with allegations of excessive force against him by Reno PD during a 2022 arrest.

The altercation followed a hit and run on parked cars for which he was at fault.

Item C3 on Wednesday’s City Council agenda called "Approval of legal settlement in Mohammadali Afshar v. Butler et. al., Case No.3:24-cv-00110-MMD-CLB, in the amount of $220,000" was quickly passed unanimously.

It did not appear in the emailed highlights sent out today. We emailed for a follow up but have yet to receive a response.

The summary of the staff report recommended “that City Council authorize the Mayor, City Manager, and City Attorney, and their respective designees, to execute all documents, and do all other acts, deeds, and activities the City Attorney deems necessary or advisable to complete a settlement with Mohammadali Afshar in the amount of $220,000.00”

In the background section it stated Afshar “sued three Reno Police Department Officers, as well as the City of Reno, in federal court for a civil rights violation, negligence, and battery stemming from an arrest that occurred on March 16, 2022. Mr. Afshar alleges that the officers used excessive force in the process of arresting him, resulting in injury.”

In a discussion bullet point it noted that on “May 26, 2026, the parties attended a court-mandated settlement conference. Following the conference, the parties reached a recommended settlement in the amount of $220,000, which is subject to Council approval.”

Court documents state that on March 16, 2022, “at approximately 1:30 a.m., Officers Butler, McCauley, and Crawford responded to a reported “hit-and-run” at 2220 Escalera Way in Reno...

Upon arrival, they found two damaged parked vehicles —a Subaru Outback and Toyota 4Runner — in the accident area and followed a trail of vehicle fluid to a nearby apartment complex, where they discovered a damaged Lexus registered to Afshar. The officers quickly located Afshar near the scene.

Around 2:15 a.m., Afshar approached the officers and admitted he had been driving the Lexus and had inadvertently struck the Subaru. Afshar acknowledged that he then “left the scene to go to a friend’s apartment due to an anxiety attack and to attend to injuries” incurred after providing his insurance information to the Subaru owner.

At approximately 3:21a.m., Officers Crawford and McCauley approached Afshar to issue a citation for the hit-and-run.”

It then details how his driver’s license is dropped to the ground and how the handcuffing ensued, with defendants saying there was resistance from Afshar’s part, which he denies, and that he had to go to Renown for treatment of multiple injuries.

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