The man body-slammed into the pavement by an off-duty police officer outside of a Denver bar last year during the celebrations following the Nuggets’ NBA championship win filed a civil rights lawsuit against the city Wednesday.
The lawsuit was sparked by former Denver police officer Adam Glasby, who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault in the June 13, 2023 incident last month — a plea deal that dismissed Glasby’s other charges of felony assault and official misconduct.
In a viral video, Glasby was caught lifting Elijah Smith, a 26-year-old father of four from Roseville, California, up to shoulder height and slamming him head-first into the concrete sidewalk outside Denver bar Hayter’s & Co., where Glasby was working off-duty.
“One of the most important things that comes out of these cases is changing the officers’ behavior and ensuring this doesn’t happen to anyone else,” said Mari Newman, one of Smith’s attorneys.
The civil rights lawsuit, detailed in a document released by Smith’s attorneys, accuses the City and County of Denver of condoning its officers’ and deputies’ use of excessive force and asks for accountability alongside compensation for Smith’s pain and suffering. The lawsuit names Glasby, the City and County of Denver and downtown bar Hayter’s & Co. as defendants.
“This is an entirely different aspect of our legal system,” Newman said. “The criminal case serves to hold the officer criminally accountable for assault, but what it doesn’t do is hold Denver or the bar who hired the officer responsible.”
A year after the assault, the Denver Police Department’s internal affairs board has yet to conclude its investigation of the incident and Smith’s attorneys are claiming the city is using the delay as an excuse to deny the man and the public their right to review the entirety of the video footage and case file.
The police department declined to comment due to pending litigation.
“Denver’s improper withholding of these public files has delayed Mr. Smith’s ability to seek justice,” the lawsuit states. “Were it not for the cell phone video recorded by a stranger, [Glasby]’s assault on Mr. Smith would not be known to the public … Glasby would likely still be employed by the Denver Police Department and he almost certainly would not have faced criminal charges.”
Denver has a history of its officers using excessive force and failing to discipline those officers, the lawsuit claims. It also points to a lack of training, supervision and discipline when it comes to the law enforcement’s use of force.
“There are just pages and pages of instances in the lawsuit where Denver officers engaged in brutality and didn’t face consequences,” Newman said. “And those are just the ones we know enough about to include in the lawsuit.”
The lawsuit details more than 80 separate instances in recent years of Denver police officers or sheriff’s deputies using excessive force against civilians without consequence, often ending in severe injury or death.
Smith’s attorneys specifically called out the Denver Police Department’s actions during and after the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, noting that of 111 complaints filed against police officers for excessive force, only three cases resulted in discipline.
They argue that the history of excessive force and lack of discipline resulted in Smith’s assault.
Glasby and another Denver officer were working off-duty as security at Hayter’s & Co. bar in Denver during the celebrations following the Nuggets’ championship win — about a half hour after the shooting that wounded 10 people about a block away — when they saw men fighting outside.
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Smith intervened in the fight outside the bar when two men attacked his friend, and he had thrown a punch but backed off, his attorneys said. Glasby, trying to break up the fight, pulled Smith away from the group and slammed him into the pavement, leaving him unconscious.
“When he smashed down on his head, Smith was out cold,” Newman said. “When he came to, he couldn’t see anything and felt staticky. He was in extraordinary pain and he couldn’t recognize anyone, even as his vision returned.”
Newman said Glasby failed to get Smith any medical care, and instead it was one of Smith’s friends who dragged the injured man to the hospital.
“The assault made it impossible for him to work,” Newman said. “He couldn’t walk initially and continues to struggle. … This event has changed his life entirely for the worse.”
One year after the incident, Smith still experiences the effects of a traumatic brain injury and continues to suffer migraines, severe pain and PTSD, according to Newman.
“I didn’t just lose consciousness that night, I lost almost everything,” Smith said in a statement. “The assault left me with a debilitating traumatic brain injury that has taken the joy out of my life. The ongoing pain and trauma still make it hard for me to leave the house, work, or even enjoy spending time with my family.”
May’s assault conviction means that Glasby can no longer work as a police officer in Colorado, according to the Denver District Attorney’s Office. But Smith is seeking more and asking for accountability from the police department as a whole, according to his attorneys’ statement.
“How many more lives need to be lost or ruined by law enforcement before Denver takes accountability and provides the training that its officers so obviously need,” Newman asked.
Smith’s lawsuit outlines eight claims for relief, including Glasby and Denver violating his Fourth Amendment protection from excessive force, Glasby violating Smith’s 14th Amendment right by failing to obtain proper treatment and first aid, multiple violations of the Colorado Constitution by all parties, assault and battery, negligence from officers and negligence in hiring and supervision by the police department.
In the lawsuit, Smith asked the court to grant compensatory damages — damages based on actual harm and injury — and consequential damages, including damages for emotional distress, humiliation, loss of enjoyment of life and other pain and suffering.
The lawsuit also asks the court to award Smith punitive damages and for the attorneys’ fees, expert witnesses fees and all other lawsuit costs to be covered by the defendants.
“Punitive damages serve as an example to the defendants as well as other police departments, officers and establishments who hire them for security that they cannot brutalize civilians without accountability,” Newman said. “A jury will determine how Smith can be compensated for his losses and, most importantly, what it’s going to take to send a message to make sure this never happens to anybody else.”
In the lawsuit, Smith and his attorneys requested the court mandate a review of Denver’s training and discipline for law enforcement officers.
“This is not a one-off case, it’s just one example,” Newman said. “Denver needs to modify its training and standards for officers to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
The City and County of Denver District Attorney’s Office did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday afternoon. The Denver Sheriff’s Department directed all questions to the DA and the Denver Police Department declined to comment.
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