LOVELAND – An excessive force lawsuit filed against the city of Loveland and four of its police officers has been settled for $290,000.
Preston Sowl of Loveland claimed the officers violated his constitutional rights by detaining and injuring him after he declined to talk to them while at the scene of an accident in September 2019, according to the Loveland Reporter-Herald. The lawsuit alleged that Sowl declined to provide more information when asked by one of the officers and was injured while being detained.
His attorney said the injury required Sowl to undergo shoulder replacement surgery.
Sowl was cited with obstructing a peace officer and resisting arrest, but the district attorney’s office later dismissed the charges.
City Attorney Moses Garcia said the settlement documents explicitly state the city and the officers did not admit guilt, and the decision to settle was made on the balance between the cost of a court case and the potential outcomes.
“Based on the circumstances … this was one probably not to take litigation,” he said.
