77-year-old Philip White after police "misunderstanding"
Philip White, now 80 years old, has been awarded $400,000 by a federal jury in Denver, Colorado. He was represented by Mari Newman. This all stems from an incident with Denver police back in 2012 when White was a
rambunctious 77-year-old. Philip White was in Denver at a conference on technical advancements for the blind, in part because he himself is blind. He decided to take a Greyhound bus back home. The bus was full, White was told he could hang around and wait for another bus, a security guard took umbrage with White's loitering and called the police.
Chafin was among the responding officers.
When he arrived, White was on his phone with 911, asking police whether they could help him.
White asked Chafin whether he could "touch" his badge, a blind man's way of verifying that Chafin was indeed a police officer.
Chafin declined.
Instead, he wrenched White's arms behind his back and pushed him forward, slamming White's head into a ticket counter, according to court documents.
White was stuck in jail and released with no charges eight hours later. For their part, the Denver Police Department says
they did nothing wrong.
The Denver Police Department did not respond to specific questions but did send the following statement:
"We believe in the judicial process and respect the jury's decision. The Department of Safety and the Denver Office of the Independent Monitor took part in reviewing the incident, and the Denver Police Department found that the officers' actions fell within department policies. We are always looking for ways to improve."
"The fact that Denver persists in saying they did nothing wrong is nothing short of terrifying," Newman said.
White's attorney estimates that on top of the $400,000 awarded to her client, the city of Denver will now have to pay out an additional $500,000 in medical and legal fees. Good job, Denver!
You can watch a news report that includes the security camera footage of the incident, below the fold.