05/04/2010 // West Palm Beach, Florida, USA // Nicole Howley // Nicole Howley
Denver, CO—A case of mistaken identity may cause the Denver City Council to settle a police brutality lawsuit for $40,000, after a man was beaten when he was mistaken for someone else who caused a disturbance at a LoDo nightclub. Eric Winfield was left with multiple injuries after police officers unnecessarily attacked him on the night of October 27, 2007, as reported by the Denver Post.
Winfield, 29, of Denver was at a downtown bar to watch the World Series game between Colorado Rockies and the Boston Red Sox, when he decided to go to his friend’s apartment and his sister’s downtown apartment after the game. Later on, when Winfield was leaving the downtown area, he followed a friend through a crowd outside Le Rouge. As Winfield was walking through the crowd, a bouncer pointed at him and shouted to police officers “That’s him; he’s the one.” As a result, three Denver police officers began to beat him.
According to the lawsuit, Officer Antonio Milow punched Winfield in the face, while two other officers, Glenn Martin and Thomas Johnson, repeatedly kneed him in the groin and punched him. But Milow stated in a deposition that he only acted after Winfield swung at him and kneed him in the groin. Winfield denies any aggression towards the officers. Winfield was subsequently arrested for suspicion of resisting arrest and assaulting an officer.
The complaint contends that Winfield suffered nerve damage in his wrist as a result of the officers repeatedly refused to loosen the handcuffs. Winfield also sustained a broken nose, lacerations to his face, chipped teeth, two black eyes, a broken blood vessel in one eye and bruised ribs. The lawsuit further asserts that Winfield was rushed by ambulance to Denver Health Medical Center where he remained handcuffed to a gurney for several hours before he received 10 stitches in his head.
The Denver City Council said they would vote on May 3 to settle the lawsuit for $40,000, based on their attorney’s recommendation.
Legal News Reporter: Nicole Howley-Legal news for Colorado personal injury attorneys.
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