Mark Barnhouse, of Athol, filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Coeur d'Alene last April.

The suit alleged that during a traffic stop, city officers used excessive force and violated several of his constitutional rights. He recently received a $10,000 out-of-court settlement from the city.

Coeur d'Alene City Attorney Mike Gridley said the settlement also called for a written letter of apology from Mayor Steve Widmyer.

"And the mayor did not hesitate for one second about doing that," Gridley added.

The complete text of Widmyer's Feb. 3 letter is printed below.

Dear Mr. Barnhouse:

I am writing on behalf of the city of Coeur d'Alene to sincerely apologize to you and your wife for the damage and inconvenience that you have suffered because of the conduct of members of the Coeur d'Alene Police Department on February 17, 2013. I have viewed the videos from the incident with the Chief of Police, City Attorney and City Council and we are in agreement that the conduct of Officers Knapp, Schmitz, and Hernas was unacceptable.

I have great respect for our Police Department and the difficult job that they have to do. However it is clear to me that your arrest should never have happened. I have discussed the incident with the Chief of Police and he has and will be conducting training for his officers to make sure that this kind of incident does not happen again.

I look forward to meeting with you or speaking with you by telephone regarding your thoughts on this incident. Please let me know a date and time that works for you.

Sincerely,

Steve Widmyer