DENVER (AP) — A jury has awarded $19.7 million to six bystanders who were wounded as a Denver police officer opened fire at an armed man as bars let out at closing time, attorneys for the plaintiffs said Friday.
The award for damages is the result of a lawsuit against Denver Police Department in connection with the 2022 shooting.
Police officer Brandon Ramos previously pleaded guilty in the shooting to a misdemeanor assault charge that makes him ineligible to serve as a police officer and included a probation sentence.
Ramos was working in a gun violence prevention team in Denver’s Lower Downtown neighborhood, near an MLB stadium, bars and restaurants, when he and two other officers, who were not charged, shot at Jordan Waddy after he pulled a gun from his pocket.
A grand jury in those proceedings found that Ramos was not in danger because Waddy did not turn and face him, and Ramos disregarded the risk posed to the crowd of people behind Waddy. Waddy survived his injuries.
Among the bystanders injured, one was shot in the arm and required surgery, another was hit in the back with by a bullet that exited through her arm. Another man was grazed by a bullet on the foot.
In a statement, attorneys for the six wounded bystanders said the new award for damages “recognizes the suffering that these six victims endured at the hands of an officer who vowed to serve and protect."
Attorney Omeed Azmoudeh said separately that the award sends “a clear message about police conduct" and that bystanders "are not just a backdrop that you can’t think about.”
A Denver police spokesperson, Officer Kurt Barnes, said Ramos resigned in February 2024 and the department had no comment on the verdict.
