Store Owner Sues Denver Police In Excessive Force Allegations
DENVER (CBS4)- The Denver Police Department is facing another lawsuit over excessive force allegations. A business owner claims officers used extreme force when they attacked him and now he's filed a lawsuit.
The incident started as a customer complaint over a money order. The store owner said when officers arrived, they threatened to arrest him without a warrant and then attacked when he asked to speak to his lawyer.
In the surveillance video, Denver Police Officers Jason Duran and Michael Gunter are seen shoving Bill Dau into his officer, putting him into a headlock and forcing him to the ground before handcuffing him.
Dau maintains he did nothing wrong, "I say, 'I'll go to my office, call my lawyer and I'll come back to you' and then I go to the office... they follow me, they push me down."
Even after the officers appear to have Dau subdued, near the end of the footage, one of the officers appears to punch Dau in the back. Before the punch the officer looks toward the door as if he is making sure no one is watching.
When asked what he thinks that means, Dau replied, "That means that he knows it's wrong... totally wrong and he's still doing it."
Police told CBS4 the officers were not disciplined and would not comment on the pending lawsuit.
"Of course they've never been disciplined, of course they've never been prosecuted because that's business as usual for the City and County of Denver," said attorney David Lane.
Lane has represented dozens of victims in Denver Police excessive force cases. He expects another settlement in this case which he also calls business as usual in Denver.
"I want tax payers to finally revolt. I'm taking your money, you have better things to do with your taxpayer dollars than give them to me, so do something about your government," said Lane.
Dau spent more than a day in jail and was charged with second-degree assault and extortion. The lawsuit claims prosecutors dropped charges against Dau after viewing the surveillance video.