Lawsuit filed against officer for alleged violent incident during Nuggets championship celebration | News

A complaint filed Tuesday alleges that a Denver police officer, while working security at a bar, slammed a man face-first into the concrete the night Denver Nuggets fans celebrated the 2023 NBA championship l 'last year.

If the former officer is found guilty, this could become a new case related to the Denver Police Department or the Denver Sheriff's Department in which the city would be held liable, resulting in a loss of taxpayer dollars in order to to finalize a settlement.

On June 12, 2023, former DPD Ofc. Adam Glasby, a white police officer, allegedly threw Elijah Smith, a black man, into the air and face-first into the concrete, according to the complaint.

The complaint was filed exactly one year after the alleged events.

On this night a year ago, Denver Nuggets fans flooded the streets of Lower Downtown (LoDo) after the Nuggets claimed a Game 5 victory over the Miami Heat and the NBA title. Glasby was on duty as a security guard at Hayter's & Co. while Smith was out celebrating the championship.

The lawsuit summarizes the events of that night as follows:

The situation escalated when Smith tried to defend his friend being “attacked” by a “drunk partygoer.”

Immediately, “Glasby came up behind Mr. Smith, grabbed him, threw him to at least shoulder height and slammed him head first into the concrete,” adding that the assault alleged resembled the “power-bomb” move of professional wrestling. .

The complaint called the incident on Smith a “brutal assault” and “inexcusable.”

A TikTik video shows Glasby knocking Smith to the ground around a group of bystanders shouting “police brutality!” »

Smith continues to recover from head injuries.

Smith did not resist arrest, disobey orders, or attempt to flee. Instead, Smith lay unconscious on the ground, unmoving, “for quite a while.”

Glasby, even though he knew Smith was unconscious, failed to seek medical attention and left him on the ground before waking up, according to the complaint.

In response to the allegation, a DPD spokesperson told the Denver Police Gazette that it does not comment on pending litigation.

Glasby resigned from the force on May 2, according to the DPD spokesperson, adding that “the department will continue and complete its Internal Affairs investigation into this incident.”

In a statement, Smith said: “I not only lost consciousness that night, I almost lost everything. The attack left me with a debilitating head injury that took away all the joy in life. The ongoing pain and trauma still prevents me from leaving the house, working, or even spending time with my family.

“I am filing this complaint to bring about change so no one else has to go through this.”

Smith's complaint asks that he be compensated for Glasby's actions.

The 75-page complaint detailed other examples of related incidents involving police. It also details other instances of “excessive force” in which Glasby was allegedly involved. The complaint notably highlighted the George Floyd protests of 2020.

In 2024, so far, the Denver City Council has approved more than $3 million in liability claims. Most of these claims, at the expense of Denver taxpayers, arise from incidents caused by the police or sheriff.

In the city's most recent tort claims, a $2.3 million settlement resolved a 2020 case in which a number of officers used excessive force against George Floyd protesters in Denver. That complaint, filed in January 2022, detailed officers' use of “unnecessary” force against nonviolent protesters with pepper spray and pepper balls, according to the lawsuit.

The Denver City Council on Monday approved a $400,000 settlement to resolve a 2021 case in which defendant Scott Peters, who was “heavily sedated” and returning from the hospital to the downtown detention center- city ​​of Denver in a wheelchair, was knocked down by sheriff's deputies and forced. back in a holding cell, according to a court complaint document detailing the incident.

The lawsuit filed in federal court alleges that Deputy Daniel Rodriguez twisted an Orcutt Police Nunchakus device on Peter's arm hard enough to break a bone and sever several arteries in his arm.

Peters is now permanently disabled, according to the complaint.

Additionally, the council on Monday approved a different $100,000 settlement for police officers carrying out an aggressive raid on a woman's Denver home.

That lawsuit, filed in 2023 in Denver District Court, alleged that Denver police officers Grisleit Blanco, Patrick Smith and Christopher Brown assaulted a woman after entering her home without a warrant.

When the woman “objected to the police entering her home, the officers entered anyway. (The woman) told the police to leave her house. In response, Corporal Smith began yelling at him,” according to the complaint.

When the woman asked them to stop yelling obscenities at her, “Blanco and Corporal Smith began twisting her arms and eventually began punching her in the face while telling her to 'shut up (EXPLITIVE).' They then falsely arrested Ms. Ryans, falsely claiming that she had assaulted one of them.”

The woman “suffered facial injuries, head trauma and had to be hospitalized.”

Colorado Politics reporter Michael Karlik contributed to this report.