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Northglenn man charges police with excessive force

On Behalf of | Sep 21, 2015 | Drunk Driving Charges |

A Northglenn man said he was “brutalized by police” when he was pulled over in an early-morning stop. He claims an office slammed him face-first into a parking lot on 120th Avenue just east of Interstate 25.

The 32-year-old admits that he should not have been driving — he was asleep in his vehicle at an intersection when he woke up to the sound of a police siren. He had been out drinking earlier that night. He said that after he pulled his car into a restaurant parking lot, officers pulled guns on him and he was yanked from his vehicle.

Police would not speak on-camera with a TV news reporter, but a report filed of the incident indicates officers believed the Northglenn man might be trying to escape when he woke up and drove across the intersection.

The man took a photo of himself later, an image that shows him with a cut over his right eye, and with dried blood and scrapes on his face. The police report also indicates the man was bleeding from his face.

A University of Colorado Denver criminology professor said the incident highlights the need for more body cameras on police officers. While Denver has committed to buying hundreds of cameras, Northglenn officials said there are no plans for the north suburb to buy any.

The man said that since the late August incident, he has trouble eating and sleeping. He added that if officers had worn body cams, people would know who was telling the truth about his early-morning arrest.

We don’t know which version is most accurate, but we do know that body cameras often reveal crucial details about these sorts of encounters. In some similar cases involving charges of excessive force, experienced DUI defense attorneys have been able to negotiate with prosecutors favorable agreements in which charges were dropped or reduced.

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