Justice For Dalvin Gadson: $2.1M Police Brutality Settlement Is ‘Warning’ To All Rogue Cops, Lawyers Say

Dalvin Gadson. | Source: The Law Offices of Harry Daniels, Latin Law Group and The Strom Law Fi

A multi-million dollar settlement for an egregious case of police brutality in Colorado should serve as a “warning” to any other cops who think they won’t be held accountable for their illegal actions, according to lawyers for a Black man who was the victim of a vicious beating in 2022.

The Colorado Springs City Council on Tuesday approved the settlement for a lawsuit brought by Dalvin Gadson , a U.S. military veteran who was brutally beaten by police during a pretextual traffic stop in Colorado while other officers looked on and didn’t intervene after he was pulled over for his car failing to display its tags.

Gadson’s lawyers, including civil rights attorneys Harry Daniels and Bakari Sellers, welcomed the settlement and said it should put other officers on notice that police brutality will not be tolerated.

“This settlement should stand as a warning to all those who think their badges entitle them to brutalize the men and women they’ve sworn to protect and serve. You are not above the law, and if your own department refuses to hold you accountable, we will,” Gadson’s attorneys said in a statement sent to NewsOne.

Photos from the incident in October 2022 show officers involved were joking following beating Gadson, who served in the Army National Guard as a helicopter mechanic. They were also caught on video laughing and bragging about the beating. One officer was photographed smiling and proudly displaying his bruised knuckle, presumably from the beating.

Source: The Law Offices of Harry Daniels and Latin Law Group

What happened to Dalvin Gadson?

While the traffic stop was taking place, an officer claimed he smelled marijuana and informed Gadson that he would have to take a DUI test. Gadson, who was homeless at the time, was ordered out of the car and told he would be placed in handcuffs.

When Gadson refused to exit his car and asked why he would need to be handcuffed, he said the question was only answered with swift force.

In a GoFundMe account raising money to help him pay for legal fees, Gadson explained what happened next:

At that moment, one of the peace officers violently grabbed my hand, and my body’s natural reaction was to pull my hand back. I did not think to do this. It was a natural reaction.

The same police officer immediately started punching me in the face while pulling me out of my car. After the first punch, I tried to say okay, I tried to say sorry, I tried to lay on the ground, but multiple officers were grabbing me, kicking me in the head, kneeing and elbowing me in the face, and punching me everywhere possible.

After I was punched several times in the face, I lost consciousness. (NOTE: No officers on the scene tried to stop this wrongdoing against me. There was thirteen peace officers on the scene) I regained awareness, lying on the asphalt. I was covered in blood, with two black eyes, one eye swelled shut with blood in my cornea, my whole body badly bruised, abrasions all over, lips busted, ribs and spine hurting and my eyesight was halfway gone (NOTE: my eyes, head, spine and back are still damaged from this incident).

Adding insult to literal injury, Gadson was charged with two counts of second degree assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, obstructing a peace officer, driving under the influence and driving without license plates. The assault charges were eventually dropped and the DUI charge was dismissed last week after it was determined that “there was insufficient probable cause to require a blood test.”

Daniels, one of Gadson’s lawyers, suggested the officers involved were motivated by race.

Gadson said he’s been left “terrified” of police officers.

Gadson eventually filed an excessive force lawsuit against the Colorado Springs Police officers involved: Colby Hickman, Matthew Anderson and Christopher Hummel.

It was in that context that the lawsuit was settled out of court on Tuesday. However, a DOJ criminal investigation into the case remains open and active.

“Let’s be clear. This is an important day for Dalvin Gadson and for all the people of Colorado Springs. But that doesn’t mean the fight is done,” Gadson’s attorneys said Tuesday. “We will continue working with the Department of Justice in their investigation and we will not stop until justice is done.”

This is America.

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