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October 08, 2008
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Colo. man sues over handcuffing
By Hector Gutierrez
Rocky Mountain News DENVER — A graphic artist filed a lawsuit Tuesday against three Denver police officers, alleging that they broke his nose and caused permanent nerve damage to his hands after he was handcuffed in lower downtown last October. Eric Winfield says he was not involved in any disturbance or criminal activity before the officers confronted him outside a LoDo restaurant Oct. 28, 2007. Ultimately, Winfield was not charged with a crime by the district attorney, according to his complaint filed by lawyer Alan G. Molk. Winfield was walking with friends near Market and 17th streets when a bouncer from Le Rouge allegedly shouted at officers and pointed at Winfield, "That's him; he's the one," according to the lawsuit. Officers Thomas Johnston, Glenn Martin and Antonio Milon then threw Winfield into a car and then down on the pavement where he hit his face, the suit alleges. While down, the officers repeatedly kneed Winfield in the groin and punched him in the head, according to the suit. The officers kept handcuffs on Winfield for more than seven hours despite his pleas to loosen the cuffs. The nerve damage to his hands from the cuffs is "damaging to his profession as a graphic artist," according to the complaint. The suit also names the city, the Denver Police Department and Le Rouge as co-defendants. "On behalf of the city attorney's office, while we take any matter such as this very serious, we have not seen the filing," Sue Cobb, Mayor John Hickenlooper's spokeswoman, said. Copyright 2008 Rocky Mountain News
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