Fort Collins police sued over arrest, pepper spraying of man who refused to take citation

The Fort Collins Police Department has been sued in federal court for allegedly violating the civil rights of a man when they arrested him and allegedly used excessive force.

Andru Kulas was body slammed, choked and pepper sprayed from an unsafe distance, his lawyers claim. His only crime, refusing to accept a citation. Fort Collins police cleared the officer of any wrongdoing, saying Kulas was resisting arrest. Kulas, 33, is now suing the department in federal court saying the department violated his constitutional arrest and that his arrest was wrongful.

The arrest in question occurred in August 2021 in Fort Collins near College Avenue and Mountain Avenue. It's not immediately clear what the officers were initially responding to, but Kulas is seen in bodycam video telling the officers that his friend's girlfriend was assaulted, and he appeared frustrated in their handling of his claim.

Fort Collins Police Officer Avery Hanzlicek wrote a citation for petty trespassing to Kulas, but Kulas refused to accept it. Officer Kevin Park took the citation and attempted to put it in Kulas' jacket pocket, bodycam footage shows, but Kulas backed up with his hands up. That's when Park took Kulas to the ground.

The law firm representing Kulas, The Life & Liberty Law Office, posted video of the arrest on its Twitter page:

Kulas' attorneys say Park was choking Kulas with one hand while holding pepper spray to Kulas' face, telling him to turn over onto his belly, which Kulas' attorneys call "physically impossible" in that moment.

"Comply or force will be used against you," one of the officers said, and then Park pepper-sprayed Kulas from just inches away.

Kulas' attorneys say police officers are trained not to deploy pepper spray from less than 3 feet because of the risk of permanent damage to the person's eyes. Fort Collins Police Department's policy does not specifically mention a safe or minimum distance of pepper spray, but does say "pepper projectiles and OC spray should not, however, be used against individuals or groups who merely fail to disperse or do not reasonably appear to be present a risk to the safety of officers or the public."

Kulas still has permanent damage to his vision in his left eye, his attorneys said, and he missed several days of work due to vision loss in the days following the pepper spraying.

He was charged with obstructing a peace officer and resisting arrest in addition to the original petty trespass charge. All three charges were dismissed, court records show.

The Fort Collins Police Department says it, along with a citizens review board, investigated the arrest:

"Upon receiving an allegation of excessive use of force related to this case, an investigation was conducted by Fort Collins Police Internal Affairs. The case involved the use of pepper spray by an officer while trying to control the defendant's physically resistive actions when he was being charged for a criminal violation in the downtown area. The case was thoroughly investigated at the time of the incident. As an additional layer of examination, Chief Swoboda requested an independent review be conducted. All facts of the case were presented to the Citizens Review Board," the department said in a statement. "After review, the CRB subcommittee unanimously agreed that the officer should be exonerated of allegations of unnecessary force. The City of Fort Collins and Fort Collins Police Services will contest the lawsuit's allegations."

Kulas' attorneys are asking for compensation for emotional distress, humiliation, loss of enjoyment of life and other pain and suffering, economic losses, punitive damages and attorneys' fees, among any other relief allowed by law.