It’s been over 4 years since Jordan Miles was beaten so badly he couldn’t see straight. Miles finally has gotten a civil jury to award him damages from his assaulters: 3 police officers.

Back in January, 2010, Jordan Miles, a black teen with dreadlocks who went to a nearby Performing Arts School where he played violin, says that he was walking to his grandmother’s house. He commonly spent the night there, and was walking and talking to his girlfriend on his cell phone. Plain-clothes policemen in an unmarked car rolled up beside him and jumped out, demanding his money, drugs, and a gun. Miles says he took off running.

The three policemen, on the other hand, say that they simply rolled up and flashed a badge when they saw Miles lurking around a neighbor’s home. They say Miles assaulted them until they saw a bulge in his jacket and thought it was a gun. According to WTAE, in the altercation that followed, they say Miles fell and hit his face on the icy sidewalk.

A local magistrate dismissed any criminal charges against the three officers. But a jury has now heard evidence from doctors who say Miles was struck 14 times in the face. One of his dreadlocks was ripped out. And his injuries put him in the hospital. Officers told the jury that the bulge turned out to be a bottle of Mountain Dew, which they could not produce because they had thrown it away.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the jury awarded Miles over $100,000 for his false arrest, though they stopped short of awarding him anything for the beating.

The case has set off a civil rights firestorm in Pennsylvania, and has been followed for the four years since the original incident.

Image via Justice for Jordan Miles