Facts

In 2006, Lorenzo Hall was arrested for illegally possessing a weapon while attending his aunt's wake in Oakland. Hall alleged that Officer Ramon Alcantar of the Oakland Police Department planted the gun on him. While he was incarcerated on the charges, Hall represented himself and after turning down several plea deals the Alameda County District Attorney's Office dropped the charges in 2008.

Hall sued the City of Oakland for the two years that he spent behind bars for the illegal possession of a weapon. The officer was acting on a tip from an informant. Later it was found out that the gun belonged to another man who had hidden it in a parked car near the wake.

Result

The city agreed to pay $300,000 to settle the matter. Hall was awarded $175,000 by a federal jury in October.