3 Castle Rock police officers sued in arrest of Colorado man with cerebral palsy

Nicole Fierro
·2 min read
61

CASTLE ROCK, Colo. (KDVR) — A Colorado man with cerebral palsy is suing three Castle Rock police officers on claims of excessive force.

Castle Rock police body camera footage shows the moments three officers took Hayden Graham to the ground and used a Taser on him in December 2022.

“It was a nonmoving traffic violation,” said Graham’s attorney, Milo Schwab.

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Schwab told FOX31 that two officers who took him to the ground had interacted with him a number of times before and knew about his cerebral palsy.

“These officers were part of a special team that dealt with Hayden on a daily or weekly basis,” Schwab said, adding: “They were the homeless response team, and Hayden was homeless at this time. He was living out of the back of his RV.”

Another body camera clip from about 30 minutes before the use of force started shows what led to officers pulling Graham over.

“When he notices it’s Hayden Graham, he mocks the way Hayden speaks because of the cerebral palsy,” Schwab said, describing what is heard in the initial body camera clip. “He mimics his speech impediment. They knew him. They knew him well.”

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One of the officer’s statements explained that after Graham was pulled over, they learned his temporary plate expired 15 days before. A records check, according to another officer’s statement, also revealed that Graham had six active driving restraints through the Colorado DMV, and his RV had not been insured since Feburary 2021.

Graham and his attorney feel the officers should have known he was not resisting arrest as they claim in police statements, knowing about his cerebral palsy.

“The video is clear: He never, never took a fighting stance, he never fought them,” Schwab said, adding: “He was surprised. He stiffened up. And that’s what happens with people with cerebral palsy. Their muscles stiffen.”

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Schwab said charges against Graham for resisting arrest were dropped, but the impacts of the use of force are ongoing.

“Prior to this, he had maybe one seizure a month,” Schwab said, adding: “After this, he started having five, six, seven seizures a week. It’s not right how they treated him.”

FOX31 got a hold of two of the three officers named in the lawsuit, who both deferred to the Castle Rock Police Department. The town of Castle Rock and Castle Rock Police Department do not comment on pending litigation, according to a spokesperson.

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