By Katie Langford
The Denver Post
DENVER — Six people who were injured when a Denver Police Department officer fired into a crowd while trying to shoot an armed man in Lower Downtown in 2022 will receive nearly $20 million in damages, a jury ruled Friday.
The $19.75 million ruling in the civil lawsuit comes one day after jurors began deliberating whether former officer Brandon Ramos was liable for injuring Yekalo Weldehiwet, Bailey Alexander, Willis Small IV, Mark Bess, Angelica Rey and Ayla Bersage when he opened fire on a suspect standing in front of a crowd near a food truck in the early hours of July 17, 2022.
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“The verdict sends an unmistakable message that officers must consider the safety of our communities when they decide to use deadly force,” attorneys with the Denver firm Rathod Mohamedbhai said in a statement. “Officers cannot treat the people of Colorado as collateral damage.”
Through the lawsuit, the six bystanders asked the jury for $13 million for damages including lost wages, medical bills and pain and suffering and $13 million for punitive damages.
Ramos was one of three Denver police officers who confronted a 23-year-old man they suspected of being involved in a fight near the Larimer Beer Hall.
The officers shot the suspect, Jordan Waddy, as he pulled out a gun from his waistband, holding it by the slide. Two of the officers shot him from the front, but Ramos fired from the side, hitting bystanders in the crowd behind Waddy.
Ramos was indicted on 14 charges in the case and pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, in a plea deal with the Denver District Attorney’s Office. He was sentenced to 18 months of probation and can never work in Colorado law enforcement again.
Waddy, who was also injured in the shooting, was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit possession of a weapon by a previous offender in 2024.
Ramos resigned from the Denver Police Department in February 2024. Agency officials on Friday declined to comment on the verdict.
An attorney for Ramos could not immediately be reached for comment.
Other recent lawsuits involving Denver police were settled for smaller sums, including $1.5 million approved by the City Council this week to settle lawsuits filed by six people over use of force during the 2020 George Floyd protests.
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