Federal Heights police accused of torture in federal lawsuit

A man who was slammed into a refrigerator and punched by a Federal Heights Police Department officer has accused the agency of condoning officer brutality in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Denver.

Kent Lasnik, 49, is asking for an unspecified amount of damages, saying he was the victim of excessive force because the Federal Heights Police Department failed to train, supervise and discipline its officers.

“The FHPD has a culture of tolerating excessive force by its law enforcement officers,” the lawsuit said.

Lasnik was injured last December during an arrest in which he was strapped into a restraint chair while an officer used pressure-point holds on his neck.

The episode was captured on multiple video cameras, including body cameras worn by two officers.

Click here to read this article in its entirety at The Denver Post.