Army vet sues police force for violation of his Fourth Amendment rights

The federal civil rights lawsuit was filed by a Black Army veteran who was allegedly beaten by Colorado Springs police during an October traffic stop.
Dalvin Gadson’s Fourth Amendment rights were allegedly violated by CSPD officers Colby Hickman, Matthew Anderson, and Christopher Hummel using excessive force, according to the lawsuit. According to the lawsuit, each defendant failed to intervene in preventing the other defendants from using excessive force against Gadson.
Gadson, a 29-year-old Army veteran, was homeless at the time of the Oct. 9 encounter, living out of his car as he ran a business selling electronics.
Gadson told KMGH that he was taking all of his money from DoorDash and investing it into his business.
“It felt like paradise,” Gadson said of being self-sufficient and saving up his earnings to eventually afford an apartment.
The Colorado Springs Police Department released bodycamera footage that showed everything changed the night of Oct. 9 when a CSPD officer pulled Gadson over, telling him it was for a missing license plate.
The officers in the video can be discussing a knife they noticed in Gadson’s cupholder after taking his driver’s license. Cannabis was also smelled coming from his vehicle by them.
After they tell Gadson he is under arrest for a DUI, he responds by saying “no I’m not” and backs into his car. The situation escalates from there, with the officers grabbing Gadson to pull him outside of the vehicle and throwing punches at him.
Gadson said that it turned into the worst nightmare he could ever imagine.
“CSPD said in a statement that its Internal Affairs division opened an ongoing investigation into the arrest” – this is a statement from CSPD
“but noted that a separate administrative review found that the officers’ use of force was in line with department policy” – this is a note from someone else
“The statement says that Mr. Gadson refused to exit the vehicle.” When officers attempted to pull Mr. Gadson from the vehicle, he physically fought with officers, and on more than one instance, he re-entered the vehicle in the area of the knife.
One of the officers named in the lawsuit, Anderson, was allegedly involved in a civil rights complaint in 2020 for wrongfully arresting and using excessive force against a man. The man had made an obscene gesture before Anderson wrenched his arm. The case was dismissed in February 2021.
The officers named in the lawsuit were unavailable for comment. The police department could not comment on the lawsuit because it is still pending.
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. His attorneys said that both assault charges were dropped and the DUI charge was dismissed in a DMV hearing.
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“Dalvin is lying on the cupholder in the video.” “He’s lying on that panel with the knife,” said Harry Daniels, Gadson’s attorney, in an interview with KMGH. I would hope that if somebody were beating the hell out of you, you would try to stop them. And I mean, try to stop and cover up. “Survival” is not a synonym for “resistance.”
Daniels said that Gadson suffered eye injuries, a ruptured eardrum, and PTSD after the incident. In the video, Gadson is seen lying on the pavement in a pool of blood at one point. Visible lacerations and contusions can also be seen on Gadson’s body in additional photos taken at the hospital, along with his swollen face.
“If you’ve ever been punched in the eye multiple times, you could literally be knocked unconscious.” You cannot see. “For some reason, you can’t hear,” Gadson said. I’m looking at the blood on the asphalt and I can feel the punches in my face.
“I just cry sometimes watching [the body camera video],” Gadson added. “It’s heartbreaking to watch this alone and realize that was me who went through this.”