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Colorado Springs Approves $3.2 Million Settlement Over 2018 Taser Death

City Council’s 6-2 vote ends the suit without admitting fault, spotlighting scrutiny of police Taser training under an insurer-driven agreement.

This combination of images from body-camera videos shows police encounters with, top row from left, Jeffrey Melvin in Colorado in 2018, Johnathan Binkley in Tennessee in 2019; bottom row from left, Bradford Macomber in Mississippi in 2016 and Samuel Celestin in Florida in 2019. Police officers in hundreds of deadly encounters across the United States violated well-known law enforcement guidelines that prescribe the safest ways to restrain, subdue and arrest people, an Associated Press investigation has found. (Colorado Springs Police Department, Knox County Sheriff’s Office, Gulfport Police Department, Ocoee Police Department via AP)

Overview

  • The July 30 decision resolves the excessive-force lawsuit filed in April 2020 by Jeffrey Melvin Jr.’s family.
  • Councilmembers voted 6-2 in a closed session before approving the settlement during a brief public meeting.
  • City officials say the insurer mandated the payout as the most financially responsible option short of a trial.
  • A 2023 Tenth Circuit ruling granted the officers qualified immunity and removed them as defendants, shifting liability to the city.
  • Attorney Darold Killmer believes the $3.2 million may be the largest police-misconduct settlement in Colorado Springs history.