Morgan Wins $510,000 in Suit Against City : Courts: A jury says the baseball Hall of Famer was mistreated by a Los Angeles police detective who mistakenly thought he was a drug courier.

A federal jury Thursday awarded $510,000 in damages to Hall of Fame baseball player Joe Morgan, saying that he had been deprived of his civil rights when he was stopped and assaulted by a Los Angeles police officer who mistakenly thought he was a drug courier.

The jury, which deliberated 2 1/2 hours, said Los Angeles Police Department narcotics Detective Clayton Searle had illegally detained Morgan on March 15, 1988, during the incident at Los Angeles International Airport.

“I believe in law and order, but it has to be fair for both sides,” Morgan said as he left the Los Angeles courtroom. “I didn’t do it for the money.”

Juror Gene Dempsey, 38, of Buena Park, said: “We wanted to send a message to City Hall that police cannot act uncontrollably.”

Assistant City Atty. Honey A. Lewis, who represented Searle, declined to comment. When the verdict was announced, Searle was not in the courtroom.

In his federal civil rights lawsuit, Morgan said Searle, without provocation, threw him to the floor, threatened him and handcuffed him.

Searle testified Wednesday that he tried to question Morgan, believing that he may have been a drug courier. He said Morgan immediately became combative, screamed and swung his arms.

Searle, a 20-year veteran of the Los Angeles police force, said he feared that Morgan would hit him, so he ducked and grabbed Morgan around the arms, then forced him to the ground and handcuffed him.

Searle said Morgan confronted him outside the Police Department’s airport substation later that day after his release. During that meeting, Morgan, still enraged, said he had hurt his neck in the struggle and wanted to lodge a complaint, Searle testified.

“He said he knew Mayor Bradley, he was going to get me fired, words to that effect,” Searle said. “He was yelling.”

Searle’s testimony differed sharply from that of Morgan, who testified Tuesday that he hadn’t provoked the officer. Morgan also testified that Searle threatened to tell newspapers that Morgan was under investigation for drug trafficking if he did not “forget” the altercation.

Morgan, a Hall of Fame second baseman, sued Searle and the city of Los Angeles for emotional damages and damage to his reputation.

Searle, a 20-year Police Department veteran, said he and a Drug Enforcement Administration agent assigned to investigate drug smuggling at the airport thought Morgan might have been the traveling companion of Tony Floyd, a man they had stopped for questioning at a nearby terminal. Searle and the agent found no drugs in Floyd’s luggage.