What the public often describes as police brutality is rarely ruled as such in legal terms — from Officer Jonathan Josey’s reinstatement after a video showed him punching Aida Guzman at the 2012 Puerto Rican Day parade, to the non-indictment of the female officer involved in a stop-and-frisk of teen Darrin Manning, who later underwent surgery at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. On Tuesday, Jan. 6, The Daily News’ Helen Ubiñas described a rare victory for justice against police brutality — Rutgers University journalism professor Khadijah White won her suit against Philadelphia police.

A 2012 peaceful demonstration against the city’s ban on feeding the homeless was interrupted by police who arrested White with so much force that she broke her finger. Because of the arrest, she missed a community service award from University of Pennsylvania that evening. Instead, White spent the night in jail, charged with resisting arrest, harassment and disorderly conduct. But in November, White saw justice served — a jury ruled that two of the five officers involved, Civil Affairs Capt. Stephen Glenn and Officer Edward Ashburn, had used excessive force against White in a wrongful arrest, awarding her $23,000 in damages.

Individual victims suffer from police brutality, as does the relationship between dedicated officers and the communities they serve. But there is another large group that is impacted. In the end, taxpayers foot the bill for police brutality. In 2013, 300 civil rights lawsuits were brought against Philadelphia police, although not all were taken to court. That year, the city spent $14 million in civil rights settlements. The year before, the city spent more than $8 million.