A Colorado man is suing three Castle Rock police officers for excessive force

CASTLE ROCK, Colo. (KDVR) – A Colorado man with cerebral palsy is suing three Castle Rock police officers over allegations of excessive force.

Castle Rock police body camera footage shows the moments three officers took Hayden Graham to the ground and used a Taser on him in December 2022.

“It was a non-moving traffic violation,” said Graham’s attorney, Milo Schwab.

Schwab told FOX31 that two officers who took him to the ground had interacted with him several times and knew about his cerebral palsy.

“These officers were part of a special team that dealt with Hayden on a daily or weekly basis,” Schwab said, adding, “They were the homeless response team, and Hayden was homeless at the time. “He was living in the back of his RV.”

Another body camera clip from about 30 minutes before the violence began shows what led to officers stopping Graham.

“When he realizes it’s Hayden Graham, he makes fun of the way Hayden talks because of the cerebral palsy,” Schwab described what can be heard in the first body camera clip. “He mimics his speech impediment. They knew him. They knew him well.”

“He never took a combative stance,” says the lawyer

One of the officers’ statements said that after Graham was pulled over, they learned that his temporary license plate had expired 15 days ago. A records check also revealed that Graham had six active driving restrictions through the Colorado DMV and his RV had not been insured since February 2021, according to another officer’s statement.

Graham and his attorney believe officers should have known he was not resisting arrest, as they claim in police statements, because they knew he had cerebral palsy.

“The video makes it clear: He never, ever took a fighting stance, he never fought against her,” Schwab said, adding: “He was surprised.” He stiffened. And this is what happens to people with cerebral palsy. Your muscles stiffen.”

Schwab said the resisting arrest charge against Graham was dropped, but the effects of the use of force were still being felt.

“Before that, he was having maybe one seizure a month,” Schwab said, adding, “After that, he was having five, six, seven seizures a week. “It’s not right the way they treated him.”

FOX31 was able to reach two of the three officers named in the lawsuit, both of whom turned themselves in to the Castle Rock Police Department. The city of Castle Rock and the Castle Rock Police Department do not comment on pending litigation, according to a spokesperson.