Source: picture alliance / Getty While there is no hard data on the exact amount that American cities have paid out in civil rights lawsuit settlements, it's safe to say that violent police officers have cost taxpayers, us, billions of dollars. For example, the New York Comptroller cites $309.51 million as the amount that The Big Apple paid for 9,036 tort claims (claims paid for civil wrongs). We only highlight these numbers to say that not only is police brutality inhumane and immoral, it's a bad business decision.