Lawsuit against city:
Denver man’s eye had to be removed after he was shot by a projectile from police in May protests.
A Denver man whose eye had to be removed after police shot him in the face with a projectile during protests downtown last summer is suing the city government for his injuries and in an attempt to change police policies.
Russell Strong has undergone three surgeries since Denver police injured him during a protest against police brutality on May 30 at Civic Center. The projectile that slammed into his face ruptured his eye, broke the bones in his eye socket and fractured his face. He will need more surgeries and care as he manages the loss of his eye for the rest of his life, he said.
“It’s been devastating, quite honestly,” Strong said. “It’s hard to put into words. It’s changed everything. Not only when it comes to physical tasks like driving or tasks at work, but the mental strain of being in large crowds and feeling self-conscious about my eye.”
The lawsuit filed late Tuesday is at least the fifth claim in federal court against the Denver government for injuries inflicted on protesters by police officers responding to the massive demonstrations of police brutality in late May and early June in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.
The lawsuits represent more than 20 people injured by police, though hundreds more were hurt by projectiles and tear gas.
Denver police Chief Paul Pazen promised change in how the department reacts to large protests after a scathing report by the city’s Office of the Independent Monitor about how the department handled the demonstrations found a lack of communication, multiple instances of excessive force and a lack of recordkeeping. He has also promised to thoroughly
investigate all allegations of misconduct.
“Given the routine targeting of peaceful protesters by officers in Denver, the shooting of Mr. Strong in the face with a kinetic impact projectile was not an isolated incident,” Strong’s lawsuit states. “Rather, Mr. Strong was just one victim of many who were shot in the head, neck, face, and chest with kinetic impact projectiles by officers in Denver during the protests.”
Police shot at least nine other people in the head with projectiles during the protests in Denver, the lawsuit alleges, including another man who lost vision in one eye.
Strong came to the demonstration on May 30 because he wanted to show support for those marching to protest police brutality, especially against Black people, he said. Just after 7 p.m., Strong was holding a sign dozens of feet back from the line of police officers in Civic Center when a police projectile flew through the air and smashed into his eye, his lawsuit states. Other protesters dragged him toward the line of officers so they could help him, photos and videos of the incident show.
“Given their scope and size, they were overwhelmingly peaceful protests and Russell was in the middle of the crowd, holding a sign, and doing nothing wrong,” said Felipe Bohnet-Gomez, one of the attorneys at the Rathod Mohamedbhai firm representing Strong.
Police in Civic Center fired hundreds of rounds of projectiles into the crowd of hundreds in the hours leading up to the 8 p.m. curfew on May 30, often without warning, video and eyewitness accounts show. Members of the crowd sometimes threw water bottles or other objects at the police.
It remains unclear which officer fired the shot that injured Strong, BohnetGomez said. They also don’t know to which of the 18 agencies that responded to the protests the officer belonged, but allege the Denver government is responsible for all officers’ actions in the city. They believe the round that injured Strong was a 40 millimeter sponge bullet because of the size and intensity of the injury, BohnetGomez said.
At least six agencies or teams — the Aurora Police Department, the Denver Police Department, the Commerce City/Brighton SWAT team, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Jefferson County Regional Tactical Team and the Westminster Police Department — used foam bullets during the protests, according to the agencies.
Strong’s injury is still being investigated by the Denver Police Department Internal Affairs Bureau, which means the lawyers representing Strong have not had access to any records about the incident, Bohnet-Gomez said. As of Jan. 31, no Denver police officers had been disciplined for actions during the protests.
Strong’s case was one of the injuries spotlighted by the American Academy of Ophthalmology in a campaign its doctors launched to end the use of rubber bullets by police in the wake of the protests across the country. The academy tracked at least 100 people who suffered serious eye injuries while attending or documenting protests across the country, said Dr. George Williams, past president of the academy.
“If one were to try to design devices to blind people, you’d have a hard time to design a more effective device than these projectiles,” he said.
Losing an eye causes a person to lose their depth perception and can also deeply impact their mental health, Williams said.
“If people are participating in peaceful protests in large crowds, then losing your vision is a high price to pay for that,” he said.
That’s why Strong’s lawsuit asks a judge to require the Denver Police Department to change its policy about how officers handle large crowds. He doesn’t want anybody else to live through what he did.
“Being alone with my thoughts is not a good place,” Strong said. “I can’t be at peace with my thoughts.”
Strong and his attorneys are asking that a judge prohibit Denver police and any other agency’s officers in the city from firing projectiles indiscriminately into protesting crowds, firing projectiles at anyone unless there is an immediate threat of bodily injury, and from using force against protesters without warning, along with other requirements.
“Without accountability, there can’t be trust between citizens and police,” Strong said.