Former Denver jail inmate sues city, Deputy Thomas Ford for punch
A federal civil rights lawsuit has been filed by a former Denver jail inmate who was punched by a deputy, an incident captured on video that became a tipping point in the department’s reform.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, names Denver and Deputy Thomas Ford as defendants. The complaint also lays out the Denver Sheriff Department’s history of excessive force complaints, and it says the city has failed to change the department’s culture and rid its sheriff’s department of problem deputies.
Ford’s punch was part of a pattern of excessive force among deputies and the “attack on Mr. Askin helped expose deep-seated issues within the DDS, which have been thoroughly documented,” the lawsuit said.
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