The city of Aurora, Colorado is paying a $110,000 settlement to a young Black man named Darsean Kelley based on a suit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado. The Root explains the suit comes from an incident back in February of 2016.
The settlement stems from a Feb. 19, 2016, incident in which Aurora police officers were responding to a call about a potential crime at an apartment complex. Although they had no description of a suspect and no reason to believe that Kelley, or his cousin who was with him, was involved in any criminal activity, they stopped them anyway as they were walking down a nearby street.
...Kelley complied with the officers’ orders anyway and held his hands up with his fingers outstretched to show that he was not a threat. At one point he pointed to his chest and said, “I know my rights.” It was then that one of the officers shot him in the back with a Taser, causing him to lose all muscular control in his body, fall backward and strike his head on the pavement.
He was subsequently arrested, charged with disorderly conduct, and spent three days in jail. The criminal case was dismissed based on the ACLU filing a motion that he was unlawfully detained on the street. In a press release, ACLU of Colorado’s legal director Mark Silverstein says they’re glad Kelley was able to get some justice, which was possible thanks to the police camera footage. Unfortunately, Aurora’s police still refuse to admit any wrongdoing—or change policies to make sure something like this never happens again.
However, the decision of the Aurora City Attorney’s Office to fairly and promptly resolve this matter stands in stark contrast to the actions of the Aurora Police Department, which at every turn has refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing or need for policy change even in the face of public outrage and irrefutable video evidence of misconduct.
The Aurora Police Department has no written policy whatsoever explaining when police can and cannot fire their tasers. And the Department desperately needs truly independent citizen oversight to hold the police accountable for wrongdoing.
You can watch a video by the ACLU about Kelley’s case below: