Colorado man with cerebral palsy speaks out about 2022 tasing, arrest and lawsuit: "They're trying to kill me"

A Colorado man has filed a lawsuit against three Castle Rock police officers over a 2022 incident where he was shocked with a taser and arrested after a traffic stop over allegedly expired registration.

The lawsuit names Officers Jacob Coyle, Paul Longuevan and Chad Stoneking as defendants.

Prior to stopping Hayden Graham, one of the officers is heard on bodyworn camera mocking Graham's speech, which is a result of his cerebral palsy, his attorneys say. The 14-page lawsuit was filed last week in Douglas County Court, accuses officers of lying about the events surrounding the arrest and seeks a jury trial, compensation for Graham and for the officers to be held liable for excessive force.

The arrest in question occurred on Dec. 7, 2022 near Prairie Hawk Drive. The lawsuit says that officers Coyle and Longuevan frequently interacted with Graham on their patrols. The suit also says those officers knew Graham had cerebral palsy, which impacts his speech and physical abilities.

The officers say they believed Graham's motorhome's registration was expired and stopped him. During the approximately 30-minute interaction, the officers didn't appear to fear for their own safety, the lawsuit reads.

Due to his cerebral palsy, the 34-year-old has difficulty placing his hands behind his back, which the officers didn't ask him to do in the first place, the lawsuit alleges, yet Graham "never moved and never engaged in any action which any person could believe was dangerous or assaultive."

The officers accused Graham of being combative in their reports, with Longuevan saying Graham was "squaring off" with officers and Coyle writing that Graham "took a fighting stance."

They took him to the ground while shouting "stop resisting," and then shocked him with a taser.

He was arrested and charged with obstructing a police officer, resisting arrest and several charges related to the insurance and registration on his RV. He pled guilty to driving under restraint and the other charges were dismissed and he was ordered to pay $154 in fines.

Graham's cerebral palsy stems from his mother dying while giving birth to him, he says: "I wore leg braces, hand braces, my speech is kinda screwed up." At the time, oxygen wasn't going to his brain for three to four minutes. Born in 1990 to a 16-year-old runaway, he moved to Castle Rock in 2007 and has experienced homelessness over the last few years, he says.

The tasing and arrest, according to Graham, has worsened his condition.

"My seizures have increased, my mobility has gone down," he said. "It definitely hurt. In my mind was like, 'oh, they're trying to kill me' (...) it was definitely a life-changing experience."

Graham's attorney Milo Schwab told CBS News Colorado that the level of force was over the top and that the officers lied about Graham's behavior afterward.

"Taking him to the ground was unnecessary, tasing him was unnecessary," he said. "They trumped up and really just made up facts to try to cover up what they did."

"This case is about what happens when the police fail to communicate and instead jump to force," Schwab said. "They knew Hayden was disabled and that he posed no risk to them. But they took him to the ground and tased him instead."

When reached for comment, a Castle Rock Police Department spokesperson said the department doesn't comment on pending litigation. For days, the department wouldn't even tell CBS News Colorado the officer's employment or disciplinary status, but Schwab says the three are still employed by the department.

While Graham has had several run-ins with the law for minor traffic violations and a 2022 guilty plea to trespassing, he has no violent criminal history.

Last year, the department was sued by a man who alleged excessive force when a police K9 bit him while he was handcuffed. That case was also brought against the department by Schwab.

Editorial note: The initial airing of the story reported that the officers involved were part of the Douglas County HEART team. While the Castle Rock Police Department partners with the HEART team, the department established its own homeless outreach navigator position in 2022. 

Paul Longuevan was serving as Castle Rock Police Department's homeless outreach navigator. He has since been promoted and now someone else is in that position with the Castle Rock Police Department.