Lawsuit filed against police officers over alleged violent incident during Nuggets championship celebration | News

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

If the former police officer is proven guilty, this could become another case involving the Denver police or sheriff, holding the city liable, resulting in a loss of taxpayer money to reach a settlement.

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

The lawsuit was filed exactly one year after the alleged incident.

On this night one year ago, Denver Nuggets fans flooded the streets of Lower Downtown (LoDo) after the Nuggets clinched a Game 5 victory over the Miami Heat and the NBA title. Glasby was working security at Hayter’s & Co. while Smith was outside celebrating the championship.

The lawsuit summarizes the events of that night as follows:

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

Immediately, “Glasby approached Mr. Smith from behind, grabbed him, threw him to the ground at least to shoulder height and slammed him headfirst into the concrete,” adding that the alleged attack was similar to the “powerbomb” move in professional wrestling.

The complaint described the incident against Smith as a “brutal attack” and “inexcusable.”

A TikTok video shows Glasby punching Smith to the ground in front of a group of bystanders while shouting “Police brutality!”

Smith continues to recover from traumatic brain injuries.

Smith did not resist arrest, disobey orders, or attempt to escape. Instead, he lay unconscious on the ground and did not move for “quite a long time.”

Although Glasby knew Smith was unconscious, he did not seek medical attention and left him lying on the floor before he woke up, the indictment says.

In response to the allegation, a DPD spokesman told the Denver Gazette that police do not comment on pending litigation.

Glasby resigned from the police force on May 2, according to a DPD spokesman, adding, “The department will continue and complete its internal investigation into this incident.”

In a statement, Smith said: “I didn’t just lose consciousness that night, I lost almost everything. The attack left me with a debilitating traumatic brain injury that has robbed me of the joy of living. The ongoing pain and trauma still makes it difficult for me to leave the house, work, or even enjoy time with my family.”

“I am filing this case to make a change so no one else ever has to experience this.”

In his complaint, Smith seeks compensation for Glasby’s actions.

The 75-page complaint contains further examples of similar incidents involving police. It also lists other examples of “excessive use of force” in which Glasby was allegedly involved. The complaint particularly highlights the George Floyd protests of 2020.

So far in 2024, the Denver City Council has approved over $3 million in liability claims. Most of these claims, at the expense of Denver taxpayers, resulted from incidents initiated by the police or sheriff.

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

On Monday, the Denver City Council approved a $400,000 settlement to resolve a 2021 case in which defendant Scott Peters, who was “heavily sedated” while returning from the hospital to the Denver Downtown Detention Center in a wheelchair, was turned over by sheriff’s deputies and forced back into a holding cell, according to a court complaint detailing the incident.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court, alleges that Deputy Daniel Rodriguez twisted an Orcutt Police nunchuck device on Peter’s arm so hard that it broke a bone and severed several arteries in his arm.

According to the lawsuit, Peters is now permanently disabled.

In addition, the council on Monday approved an additional $100,000 in compensation for the police raid on a woman’s apartment in Denver.

The lawsuit, filed in Denver District Court in 2023, alleges 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 police entering her home, officers entered anyway. (The woman) ordered officers to leave her home. In response, Corporal Smith began yelling at her,” the complaint states.

When the woman asked them to stop shouting obscenities at her, “Blanco and Corporal Smith twisted her arms and eventually punched her in the face while telling her to ‘shut up.’ They then falsely arrested Ms. Ryans and fabricated the claim that she had assaulted one of them.”

The woman “suffered facial injuries and a head injury and had to be hospitalized.”

Colorado politics reporter Michael Karlik contributed to this report.