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Ex-inmate threatens to sue Colorado county over alleged excessive force

COLORADO SPRINGS – A former inmate is threatening to sue a Colorado county, alleging a deputy shoved his already broken jaw against a cell wall after he complained he was served food he couldn’t eat.

The Gazette reports attorneys representing Thomas Ryan Dole say the incident took place last September at El Paso County Jail, a few days after Dole was involved in a fight with other inmates that left him with a broken back and required that his jaw be wired shut and that jail staff place him on a liquid diet.

One of Dole’s attorneys, Heather Mitchell, asks for “damages in excess of $75,000” in a letter of claim the county received May 30.

Sheriff’s office spokeswoman Jackie Kirby declined to comment on the claim, saying in an email that the county does not comment on pending litigation.