The Sinn Fein Assembly member for North Belfast, Mr Gerry Kelly, has received £4,000 in an out-of-court settlement with the RUC.
Mr Kelly, who alleged he was falsely arrested and assaulted by RUC officers during a protest in Belfast against an Orange parade, was granted the award plus costs.
Mr Kelly's action arose out of an incident in Belfast four years ago which earned him the nickname "Houdini". He said he went to the Antrim Road, where nationalists were involved in a sit-down protest against the loyalist parade.
He was arrested and put into a police vehicle, but escaped still wearing handcuffs which have never been recovered. The incident occurred on the Antrim Road when local residents were protesting-against an Orange parade known as the "Tour of the North".
Mr Kelly's claim against the RUC Chief Constable was due to last two days at Belfast Recorder's Court, but a lawyer told Judge Anthony Harte that the action had been settled for £4,000 and said the police had agreed to pay Mr Kelly's legal costs.
Mr Kelly said outside the court: "I was standing 10 to 15 yards from the sit-down protest when the police surged forward, jumped me and put on the handcuffs."
He said he was pulled to the ground, handcuffed and had the sleeve torn off his coat. "I was put in a Land-Rover and assaulted. The RUC retaliated by charging me with assault but the charges were thrown out in court," he said.
Mr Kelly said he was at the parade as an observer at the request of residents. "The award of damages against the RUC vindicates my position," he said.