MONROE — The Monroe Common Council approved a mediation settlement agreement with Monroe resident William Klein in the amount of $125,000 at its meeting Dec. 16.

The amount was half what 60-year-old Klein requested in a claim against the city in 2017, the highest recoverable for damages against an officer or state employee under state law. After the city denied that claim, he then filed a lawsuit against former Monroe Police officer Brent Krebs and the City of Monroe seeking an unspecified amount of compensation for damages.

Mayor Louis Armstrong called the event itself “unfortunate” but said he was happy with the settlement.

“(It’s) always good to close out an issue,” he said.

Armstrong said the settlement would be paid for by the city’s insurance and that by settling the city had “chose the best route.”

On May 12, 2016, at about 5:30 p.m., Krebs was responding to an ambulance call within the city. Driving southbound in the 1800 block of 13th Avenue, Krebs did not have his emergency lights or sirens active when pulling forward onto 19th Street. Monroe Police Chief Fred Kelley has said Krebs saw Klein driving an eastbound motorcycle and slammed on his brakes, though the front bumper of the bike collided with the squad car. According to the accident report per Kelley, the motorcycle remained upright, though it had slight damage to the front fender.

Klein claimed in court records that the motorcycle slammed into the body of the police car, with the bike skidding underneath. In his suit, filed against Krebs, the city and CVMIC, Klein had requested nearly $45,000 to pay for medical costs. He cited the need for additional compensation up to the statutory limit to account for unknown future costs of care.

Attorneys for the city at the time, Ted Waskowski and Kyle Engelke of Madison-based Stafford Rosenbaum LLP, denied allegations of negligence and made a jury demand March 18. A final pre-trial was scheduled for Dec. 12. The mediation settlement agreement was signed Nov. 26.

The settlement agreement specifies that payment will be made 10 days after council approval, and that, in addition to holding the defendants harmless, Klein will pay for all medical and chiropractic expenses.

City attorney Dan Bartholf’s requested that the settlement approval be amended to allow for any finalizations of formalities — not substantive changes — and the approval was so amended. There was no other discussion.

Council president Brooke Bauman and alder Michael Boyce were absent, and alder Tammy Fetterolf abstained, but the decision was otherwise unanimous.

— Bridget Cooke contributed to this story.