A settlement in the landmark racial discrimination case, which found police were racist in response to riots that followed Cameron Doomadgee's 2004 death in custody, was reached on Tuesday. The money will be paid by the state government to 447 claimants.

Rioting broke out when police denied responsibility for causing Mr Doomadgee's death after he was locked up for being drunk and a public nuisance.

Indigenous activist Lex Wotton was jailed for inciting the riots that led to the local police station and home of arresting officer Chris Hurley - who would later be found responsible for Doomadgee's fatal injuries - being burnt to the ground.

The settlement has been welcomed by the Palm Island community, with many saying they are still experiencing trauma over the incident.

But Mr Leavers said it ignored the trauma suffered by those officers on the island at the time.

"We are not racist, we do a great job in (indigenous) communities right around the state of Queensland and I believe the only apology that should be forthcoming is to the police who were involved," he told ABC radio on Wednesday.

"They were on the phone to their loved ones saying their goodbyes - no one will ever know what they've gone through and some of those people will never be the same again.

He said the judges who handed down the 2016 ruling that police had been racist were out of touch.

"You've got to be careful because you can't criticise judges because they can be precious, however they do not live and work in these communities (and) they simply don't have a clue of what occurs," he said.

The vice-president of the Queensland Council for Civil Liberties, Terry O'Gorman, said Mr Leavers had proven he was the one who is "out of touch" with his "reactionary" response.

"The Queensland Police Union is increasingly a Neanderthal relic constantly justifying past and ongoing serious wrongdoing by a worrying minority of police," Mr O'Gorman said.

Australian Associated Press