Colorado city agrees to settle police beating lawsuit for $2.1 million
DENVER (AP) — Colorado Springs leaders agreed Tuesday to pay $2.1 million to settle a federal lawsuit brought by a Black man who was punched and kicked by police during a traffic stop in 2022.
City councilors voted to back the agreement to settle Dalvin Gadson’s lawsuit, which still needs to be formally signed, city spokesperson Max D’Onofrio said.
Gadson was stopped on Oct. 9, 2022, after police said they saw him driving slowly in a car without a license plate. His lawsuit alleged 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 open the driver’s side door, turn his body to face toward them and ask to remain seated inside.
Officers told him to get out because he was under investigation for DUI. But he objected. After that, the camera footage captured officers reaching in to get him out and a blurry struggle where it is difficult to see who is doing what.