World News
Colorado Springs settles lawsuit over police assault for $2.1 million
Colorado Springs leaders agreed Tuesday to pay $2.1 million to settle a federal lawsuit filed by a Black man who was punched and kicked by police during a 2022 traffic stop.
City council members voted in favor of agreeing to a settlement Dalvin Gadson’s lawsuitwhich has yet to be formally signed, said city spokesman Max D’Onofrio.
Gadson was arrested on October 9, 2022, after police said they saw him driving slowly in an unmarked car. His lawsuit alleged that three officers beat him “beyond recognition” and left him with significant PTSD-like symptoms.
After an officer told Gadson to get out of the car, police body camera footage showed him opening the driver’s side door, turning his body toward them and asking if he could stay inside.
Officers told him to leave because he was under investigation for driving under the influence. But he objected. The CCTV footage then showed officers trying to get him out and a blurry struggle where it was difficult to see who was doing what.
According to the lawsuit, two officers punched him in the face and one of them stabbed his knee into Gadson’s forehead, causing him to fall back into the car.
The body camera footage shows an officer punching Gadson repeatedly from the passenger side of the car. Another portion of the video shows an officer kicking Gadson as he is pulled out of the car and placed on the ground.
Gadson was originally charged with two felonies and two misdemeanors of obstructing a peace officer and resisting arrest, but prosecutors quickly dismissed the charges. The misdemeanor charges were also later dropped, said Harry Daniels, one of Gadson’s attorneys. In the end, Gadson only had to pay a $15 fine for not displaying a license plate number, he said.
“The city should have been fined. But instead they had to pay $2.1 million for the actions of their officers,” he said.
Colorado Springs police declined to comment on the settlement.
The department previously conducted an investigation that found the officers had followed department policy on use of force. The officers charged are still on the job and are in good standing with the department, spokesperson Caitlin Ford said.
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