The city of St. Paul has reached a settlement with a man who says he was tasered and kicked by police while he was working on a car in a garage several years ago.

The St. Paul City Council will likely approve a $12,500 settlement Wednesday with Frankie Edward Adams and his attorney. Adams sued the city of St. Paul and Sgt. Steve Anderson as well as Officers Soren Mahowald, John Pyka, Abraham Cyr and Craig Rhode.

According to the amended complaint filed in U.S. District Court:

Adams was working on a car on the night of Jan. 6, 2010, when police searched the property. When Adams saw the first officer enter the garage and point a firearm at him, he turned around and kneeled down and placed his hands behind his head.

After other officers rushed in, Adams says he was tasered in the back and kicked to the floor by Cyr. Adams alleged that Anderson continued to kick him in the head. Rhode allegedly reached down and grabbed Adams by the mouth and jaw and tried to drag him backwards and Cyr tasered Adams again. Anderson continued to kick Adams and swore at him.

Adams tried to crawl under the car he was working on so he could protect his head and neck, but was dragged out, handcuffed and walked into the apartment. Once inside, Adams was stripped and searched in front of several children. According to the complaint, one of the officers called for paramedics, but when medics arrived they were told that Adams was "going to jail, not to the hospital."

After Adams was booked, he blacked out walking to the bathroom and fell to the ground. When he woke and went to the restroom and saw the extent of his injuries and pushed a button for help. A nurse at the jail said that Adams should be hospitalized, and he was taken to Regions Hospital.

Adams' eye sockets were so bruised that they were swollen shut for several weeks after the incident. He also suffered black out episodes and cognitive deficiency for nearly a year.

Adams was never charged with a crime as a result of the search warrant, the complaint said.

While Judith Hanson, an assistant city attorney, said in the city's response to the complaint that the city denied Adams was kicked as described in the complaint, she said that he was tasered twice. Hanson also said that Adams' injuries were caused by his own actions or were preexisting and unrelated to the incident. Hanson said that any force officers used against Adams was reasonable.

Decades ago, Adams' testimony helped convict gang leader Robert G. (Buster) Jefferson for the 1994 firebombing deaths of five St. Paul children. Adams was indicted on five drug charges and faced potential prison, but he agreed to testify that he overheard Buster Jefferson and his half-brother, Robert J. (Duddy) Jefferson, admit to their roles in the firebombing. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to drop all but one of the drug charges against Adams.

In January, Robert J. Jefferson, who was 16 at the time of the crime, saw his sentence reduced to 50 years after initially being sent away for life with no chance of parole.