Man reportedly paralyzed after tased by Colorado Springs Police officer, files lawsuit

KOAA, ATTORNEY HANDOUT, CNN

By Maggie Bryan , Aidan Hulting

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    COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (KOAA) — A Colorado man is suing a Colorado Springs Police Officer for $100 million after he was tased and reportedly left paralyzed in May of 2022.

The lawsuit said Jacob Root was in a reported stolen vehicle at a Kum & Go near Airport Road and South Circle Drive on May 16, 2022. Root’s attorney said more than a dozen law enforcement officers with the Colorado Springs Police Department, El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, and Colorado State Patrol were working to track down the stolen vehicle as part of the Beat Auto Theft Through Law Enforcement (BATTLE) task force.

The lawsuit said the officers watched Root go into the gas station. When he exited, the lawsuit said Root started running when he saw the officers. The body camera video provided by Root’s attorney shows CSPD Officer Robert Comstock begin chasing Root. Moments later the video shows the officer tasing Root as he’s running down a slope of dirt and rocks to the sidewalk along Airport Road.

The body camera video shows Root falling face-first over the curb after being tased. The lawsuit said he broke his neck and is now a quadriplegic.

The lawsuit details another incident earlier in the day, saying the same stolen vehicle reportedly rammed a police cruiser when task force members tried to block it from leaving a hotel on North Nevada Avenue. Root’s attorney provided a four-minute body camera video of the tasing incident and did not include any video of incidents prior.

Harry Daniels, Root’s attorney, said Officer Comstock did not follow policy when he tased the man. Daniels said according to CSPD policy, officers cannot tase someone who’s in an elevated position and must warn the person before using force.

“You cannot shoot a person in an elevated state. You cannot shoot a person without warning using a taser,” said Daniels. “He didn’t warn him and shot him in the back and caused him to fall.”

CSPD’s Use of Force Policy says officers will not deploy a taser when a person is in an elevated position or a location where a fall may cause substantial injury or death unless the officer has approval from supervisors or the situation is urgent. The policy also says officers shall give a clear verbal warning before using force.

CSPD said it reviews all uses of force internally. A spokesperson said the department is still reviewing internal documents and facts about the incident and is not commenting on the lawsuit right now. CSPD said Officer Comstock is still with the department and is in good standing.

The lawsuit names Officer Comstock as a defendant in his individual capacity. Daniels said the lawsuit was not filed against the Colorado Springs Police Department because it was the actions of one officer that were “unconstitutional.”

“The city has an amazing use of force policy. The problem is that the police officer’s not following it. That’s the issue,” said Daniels.

On Friday the Colorado Springs Police Department responded to the lawsuit and provided more details and a statement that you can read in part below.

Any time there is a use of force, especially when it results in serious bodily injury, it is imperative for our department to look critically at the decision-making and context surrounding the use of force. As such, CSPD initiated a level two internal affairs investigation into the use of force by Officer Comstock. After review through the deputy chief, Officer Comstock was exonerated from any policy violation or wrongdoing. CSPD stands by the findings of this internal review. Officer Comstock is a valued employee and is in good standing with the department.

CSPD values transparency and truth in all that we do. To uphold these values for our community, we are providing the final review of the internal affairs investigation and the relevant BWC clips for our community. You can find this information on the CSPD cases of interest webpage.
Colorado Springs Police Department

According to the department, Officer Comstock did indicate to Root that use of force would be used when they announced the deployment of a K9 Officer. After Root continued to run, Comstock deployed his taser, the department says that a level two internal affairs investigation into Officer Comstock’s use of force was conducted and he was exonerated.

The department released additional body camera footage from other responding officers on the scene.

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