An altercation six years ago outside a strip club involving an on-duty Baltimore Police officer and an off-duty officer will cost taxpayers $5.2 million.

A federal jury verdict handed down Thursday capped a long-winding saga that first saw then-Sgt. Henrietta Middleton charged in August 2018 with assaulting an on-duty officer, Marlon Koushall. Koushall had responded to break up a melee at Norma Jean’s strip club on The Block.

But shortly after, bystander video surfaced of Koushall striking Middleton in the face, then throwing her to the ground by her hair. The State’s Attorney’s Office dropped charges against Middleton and indicted Koushall on charges of second-degree assault.

He was convicted at a bench trial in October 2019. But he remains with the department, police confirmed.

In 2020, Middleton, who also remains with the department and is a captain in the Northern District, sued in U.S. District Court, and the case went to trial last month.

“We are absolutely pleased with the jury’s outcome,” said one of Middleton’s attorneys, Latoya A. Francis-Williams. “Our goal was to capture the humanity of Captain Middleton. ... This was about compensation for the humiliation she endured, not just the pain and suffering but the ill-treatment.”

Koushall has maintained that Middleton was the aggressor and that he defended himself.

Judge Lynn Stewart Mays originally sentenced Koushall to six years in prison, with all but one day of time served suspended, as well as three years of probation and 100 hours of community service.

The Police Department initially did not charge Koushall for the incident, but his criminal conviction triggered an internal charge of not following the law.

An internal use-of-force review concluded in 2020 that Koushall’s actions had been “objectively reasonable and consistent with accepted standards of police practices, policies and training” and that de-escalation techniques in lieu of force were “not available to Sgt. Koushall during this incident and immediate action was required.”

Koushall said in a deposition that he was slated to be fired as a result of the conviction, and requested a sentence modification. Just days before his termination was to occur, Mays changed his sentence to probation before judgment.

He kept his job, and the case no longer appears in online court records.

Though Middleton has been twice promoted, her attorney said she wants to return to internal affairs, where she was working at the time of the altercation. “She continues to put her head down and rise through the ranks,” Francis-Williams said.