AURORA, Colo. (AP) - A Colorado police department agreed to a $285,000 settlement in a lawsuit filed by a man who claimed several officers used excessive force against him during an arrest.
The Colorado branch of the American Civil Liberties Union said the city of Aurora agreed to the settlement in October with Jaime Alberto Torres Soto, The Aurora Sentinel reports.
A complaint filed two years ago by Torres, 32, said he suffered injuries to his eye, face, head, shoulder and back while police detained him outside a garage beside his Aurora home in November 2016.
Police were called to the area when a neighbor made a noise complaint and officers ordered Torres out of the garage and detained him. Police body camera footage includes audio of Torres saying, “You’re spraining my arm,” in Spanish at least eight times, the complaint said.
The complaint alleges officers repeatedly slammed Torres’ head and body into the pavement.
Torres was charged with disturbing the peace, resisting arrest and failing to obey a lawful order. He was acquitted of the latter two charges in a jury trial, the complaint said.
“While the size of Mr. Torres’ settlement suggests the significance of the wrongdoing in this case, it does not begin to serve justice,” ACLU of Colorado Legal Director Mark Silverstein said in a statement. “To this day, Mr. Torres suffers physically and emotionally from that incident, and radicalized police violence in Aurora has continued unabated.”
Aurora police did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for the Aurora City Attorney’s Office said a statement will be issued.
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