DENVER — A Denver jury on Friday awarded $19.75 million in damages to six plaintiffs who were injured when a now-former Denver Police officer fired shots toward a crowd in Lower Downtown in July 2022, according to one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys in the case.
The attorneys represented the plaintiffs had asked jurors to award $13 million in damages in the civil trial in Denver District Court, according to Colorado Politics.
The six plaintiffs were injured when Brandon Ramos fired at a suspect in the early morning hours of July 17, 2022, outside Larimer Beer Hall.
Before the shots were fired, Denver Police said, officers saw a physical altercation beginning between two men in front of the Larimer Beer Hall. One of the men, later identified as Jordan Waddy, was the “aggressor” and struck another man, DPD said. That officer also reported that Waddy had a gun.
Denver Police said Waddy pointed a gun at officers, who each fired at him.
According to the indictment for Ramos, he was off to the side of Waddy and fired his weapon toward him twice. Six bystanders were injured. They are the plaintiffs in this case: Yekalo Weldehiwet, Bailey Alexander, Willis Small IV, Mark Bess, Angelica Rey and Ayla Bersagel.
“The verdict sends an unmistakable message that officers must consider the safety of our communities when they decide to use deadly force,” according to a statement from the office of Rathod Mohamedbhai, which represented three of the plaintiffs.
A grand jury indicted Ramos in January 2023. He pleaded guilty in January 2024 to one count of third-degree assault and was sentenced to probation. Fourteen other counts were dismissed in the plea agreement.
Waddy pleaded guilty in January 2024 to a single count of conspiracy to commit possession of a weapon by a previous offender. Four other counts against him were dismissed as a result of the plea deal.
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