Community Corner
District Attorney Drops Charges Against Black Man Who Accuses Colorado Springs Police Of Excessive Force
Charges were dropped against Dalvin Gadson after he entered a guilty plea for not having properly displayed license plates.
February 1, 2023
Colorado’s 4th Judicial District attorney’s office dropped charges against Dalvin Gadson, a Black man who was beaten by Colorado Springs police at a traffic stop, after he entered a guilty plea for not having properly displayed license plates.
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Charges of assault on a police officer and DUI against Gadson had already been dropped, but now other charges of resisting arrest and obstructing a peace officer have also been dropped. According to a Facebook post from DA Michael Allen’s office, "the Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct direct prosecutors to refrain from pressing charges they know are not supported by probable cause."
A news release from Gadson’s attorneys said he ultimately paid a $15 fine for not having a license plate on display.
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“By dropping the charges, the District Attorney has made it clear that these officers had no reason to detain Mr. Gadson for a DUI investigation, much less beat him mercilessly and then smile for the cameras as he lay on the ground bleeding,” Gadson’s attorneys said in a statement. “In other words, this decision means that their actions weren’t just excessive. They were unlawful.”
Gadson’s attorneys filed a federal lawsuit against the officers involved in the incident claiming they deliberately beat Gadson without warning, and said the officers should be investigated, arrested and prosecuted.
“Failing to do so puts lives at risk,” the attorneys said. “Just ask Tyre Nichols’ family.”
The 29-year-old Nichols died last month after being brutally beaten by police in Memphis, Tennessee, following a traffic stop.
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