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The trouble began with a fight during the celebration of the Denver Nuggets’ first NBA championship.
DENVER — A Denver man filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Wednesday that accused a now-former police officer of a “brutal assault” – a head-first body slam – during revelry in the hours after the Nuggets won the NBA championship a year ago.
Elijah Smith suffered a brain bleed and nerve damage, according to the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages.
Smith’s injury was captured on video from multiple angles when then-Denver Officer Adam Glasby grabbed him from behind, hoisted him in the air and slammed him to the ground head-first.
“Videos like that are what make a personal injury lawyer’s heart sing,” said 9NEWS legal analyst Scott Robinson. “It is very clear from the video that it was a lot of force used.”
Smith acknowledged that he rushed into a melee June 12, 2023, in the area of 19th and Blake streets and threw a punch as he attempted to defend a friend. At that point, Smith backed away from the altercation, and that’s when Glasby grabbed him and threw him down.
The lawsuit claims that Glasby failed to identify himself or issue a warning before grabbing Smith.
“From the video, it seems very clear that the incident resulted in an individual being knocked completely unconscious,” Robinson said, “and then no one stepping in to help him, at least not from the police department.”
The lawsuit claims that Glasby also threw another person to the ground that night and was accused of using excessive force in two other cases, both of which were ruled “unfounded” by Denver Police Department investigators.
“The reality is that an officer who has been involved in multiple prior violent situations is going to be much more likely to be held liable than an officer whose record is clear,” Robinson said. “The reality is that some officers abuse their position over and over again. Not the majority of officers. The majority of officers do their job, and they don’t use excessive force. They use force as required.”
The lawsuit names the Denver Police Department, Glasby and the parent company for a bar where the officer was employed as a security guard that night.
Robinson said the video recordings of the body slam will be powerful pieces of evidence.
“Citizen cellphone evidence – and more recently, officer-worn camera footage – has proved to be invaluable in making the justice system just,” Robinson said. “What we should want out of our justice system is a correct result, and if there’s one thing a video does, it injects truth into the fact-finding process.”
Glasby pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of reckless endangerment, was stripped of his state certification to be a law enforcement officer, and resigned from the Denver Police Department on May 2.
Denver Police officials declined to comment on the lawsuit.
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