St. Paul police kicked a man in the face as he lay on the ground and tried to explain that his mother couldn't quickly get to the ground because she'd recently had surgery, a lawsuit says. Police then shot a "flash-bang" grenade directly at the woman, setting her afire and seriously burning her legs, according to the lawsuit.

The St. Paul City Council is slated to approve a $400,000 settlement in the lawsuit Wednesday, Nov. 7, equaling the largest payout in a St. Paul police lawsuit, according to the city attorney's office.

Six other police misconduct cases have led to nearly a half-million dollars in payouts this year, according to the St. Paul city attorney's office. The city also recently settled for $385,000 a data privacy lawsuit involving St. Paul officers.

An investigation continues into a separate case in August in which a St. Paul police officer was seen on video kicking a suspect who was on the ground.

"This is extremely, extremely sad to hear about officers we trust to protect and serve," Tyrone Terrill, chairman of the African-American Leadership Council, said Wednesday of the lawsuit about to be settled. "We really need to have a serious talk with Chief (Thomas) Smith and his leadership." (...)

... As Budd lay face down on the carpet, the elders quorum president stood up from where he was sitting on the couch, thinking he could explain why he and Budd were there.

"The kind officers [who were spouting language the two LDS home teachers were not used to hearing] did not seem to like this action and one very large officer stepped toward Budd’s companion, who then found himself looking directly into the muzzle of the gun with a bright light shining in his eyes. The officer placed his finger over the trigger and shouted, ‘I said get on the ground!’ "

The portly elders quorum president quickly complied, but to Budd’s chagrin, there wasn’t enough room between the couch and coffee table, so he landed on Budd.

"I never thought I would need to ‘support the president’ like that," Budd continued. "I assure you, I really felt the weight of my calling."

While they were on the floor, the cops, who were part of a narcotics task force, continued to shout orders and threats. "The humor of the whole situation hit me full force and I started laughing," wrote Budd.

They were handcuffed and searched for weapons, not including their scriptures.

The elders quorum president finally blurted in one breath that they were home teachers from the LDS ward, causing the officers to look at one another in puzzlement. They asked for church ID and were quickly shown temple recommends.

"I knew that my temple recommend could help me get into the Lord’s house," Budd wrote, "but I never dreamed it could help me avoid going to the Big House."

Alas, they couldn’t save the couple they had gone to enlighten. "The lost sheep we were hoping to bring back to the fold sadly ended up going to a different pen."