Man Is Granted $2.4 Million for False Arrest and Beating by Police A federal jury awarded $2.4 million on Wednesday to a man who they found had been beaten and arrested under false pretenses in Upper Manhattan by the New York police. The man, Noel J. Guzman, was arrested early on Feb. 14, 2009. According to his account, he had just left a club called the Red Lounge in Inwood when his friends had an altercation with another group of people. A fight broke out at the corner of 207th Street and Sherman Avenue, but Mr. Guzman was not involved, according to his testimony. Several police officers arrived, and Mr. Guzman testified that they grabbed him, threw him to the ground and began "kicking and stomping" on him. Mr. Guzman's right knee was injured, and he was taken to Harlem Hospital Center. Even though officers were aware that he was not involved in the fight and was in no way interfering with them, Mr. Guzman was arrested and charged with obstructing the police, according to a criminal complaint he filed. One month after the episode, one of the officers involved, Brian Jay, perjured himself when he claimed that Mr. Guzman grabbed his shirt and tried to strike him, according to Mr. Guzman's complaint. The charges against Mr. Guzman were dropped by the Manhattan district attorney's office. No criminal charges were filed against the officers involved. Police officials did not respond on Wednesday to a request for comment. Mr. Guzman needed surgery on his knee and has sued the police for damages. A jury believed Mr. Guzman's account of what happened and awarded him $2.4 million, including $200,000 in punitive damages. Morgan Kunz, an assistant corporation counsel with the city's Law Department, said in a statement: "We are extremely disappointed. We feel the jury ignored evidence that proved that the plaintiff had been drinking and was involved in a street fight beforehand. We assert that the officer did not injure Mr. Guzman. We're weighing all options, including appeal.