A federal judge last week declined to dismiss Denver from an excessive force lawsuit, finding the plaintiff had sufficiently alleged the city’s lack of training was behind an officer’s decision to slam him head-first into the ground.

Elijah Smith alleged he was among the crowd of people in Lower Downtown celebrating the Denver Nuggets’ NBA championship victory in June 2023. One of Smith’s friends got into an altercation with someone else and Smith moved to intervene.

Adam Glasby, an off-duty police officer working security for Hayter’s & Co. bar, allegedly grabbed Smith from behind, slammed him head-first into the ground and knocked Smith unconscious. Smith allegedly suffered a brain bleed and nerve damage as a result.

Court records show Glasby subsequently pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault. He is no longer a police officer.

Smith sued for excessive force, battery, and negligence, among other claims, naming Glasby, Hayter’s, and another officer as defendants. He also alleged the city had customs or policies that allowed officers to use excessive force, and that it failed to properly train its officers.

Smith’s lawyers listed numerous instances of complaints, settlements and jury verdicts over Denver officers’ use of force, including in the protests following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis three years earlier.

“This crowd control setting was analogous to the crowd control settings outlined in the Amended Complaint where DPD officers previously and customarily used excessive force,” wrote Smith’s attorneys.

“These alleged deficiencies are not closely related to Glasby’s use of hands-on contact in breaking up the bar fight here,” argued the Denver City Attorney’s Office in seeking to dismiss the excessive force claim.

In an Aug. 29 order, U.S. District Court Judge S. Kato Crews concluded Smith had credibly alleged Denver’s failure to train its officers was behind Glasby’s actions. Crews added that the city had “recharacterized” Smith’s allegations.

The “incident between Plaintiff and Glasby did not occur during a bar fight but rather, under circumstances more akin to a protest. The pleading is explicit that Plaintiff had joined a mass of other revelers outside of the bar and was attempting to defend a friend,” he wrote.

Because Glasby allegedly held himself out as a Denver officer while he was working security and because Smith pointed to instances of deficient training in protest-like situations, “there is a reasonable inference that Denver’s failure to train directly caused Plaintiff’s injuries,” Crews concluded.

Glasby has responded to the allegations by acknowledging his criminal prosecution and loss of peace officer certification, while denying that he “brutally assaulted” Smith. Glasby’s attorney wrote that Glasby “witnessed two males leave the bar and physically attack another male.” Glasby “pulled one of the individuals involved and the person apparently lost” consciousness, after which Glasby allegedly rendered aid.

The case is Smith v. City and County of Denver et al.