COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Colorado Springs City Council approved a $2.1 million settlement for a man who was forcibly removed from his vehicle by three Colorado Springs Police Department Officers.
In council Tuesday, the settlement was approved in a 7-1 vote.
Councilmember Dave Donelson called for the item to be moved from the consent agenda to later in the City Council Meeting Tuesday, and was the only member of the council that voted no against the settlement.
Before casting a no vote, Donelson explained the following:
The settlement amount is $2.1 million. And, I believe citizens are tired of city council, our city settling with individuals, who don't comply with lawful requests of police officers that end up in a physical... It's necessary for them (police) to use physical methods to follow a simple request like stepping out of your vehicle. If the problem is that, and everything I am saying is in general to these kinds of cases, it's not specific to this one. If the problem is, we don't, we're worried about what the court system is going to do. We don't trust the court system. They might do something, they might award even more money. I say let's send it to the court and let the citizens see where the problem is versus us preempting that and giving a large settlement right here. I also believe this encourages more and more lawsuits against the city. Thank You.
The lawyers representing Gadson provided our newsroom with the following statement after the council vote.
This settlement should stand as a warning to all those who think their badges entitle them to brutalize the men and women they’ve sworn to protect and serve. You are not above the law and if your own department refuses to hold you accountable, we will.
Let’s be clear. This is an important day for Dalvin Gadson and for all the people of Colorado Springs. But that doesn’t mean the fight is done. We will continue working with the Department of Justice in their investigation and we will not stop until justice is done.
This kind of violence is unacceptable whether it happens in Camden County Georgia or Colorado Springs. The American people won’t stand for it.
The lawsuit stemmed from an incident involving Dalvin Gadson that took place on October 9, 2022 when the 29-year-old from Georgia was forcibly removed from his vehicle and struck multiple times by officers.
The lawsuit named Officers Matthew Anderson, Colby Hickman, and Christopher Hummel as the three who used excessive force when striking Gadson to get him out of the vehicle.
WATCH: Officers' use of force found justified following internal investigation
After an administrative review by the chain of command at CSPD, it was determined the officers' use of force was warranted in August of 2023.
In October of 2023, the United States Department of Justice referred the case for investigation to determine whether Gadson was racially profiled, and if the officers were guilty of misconduct in office for using excessive force.
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