Two activists groups and a civil rights law firm in Denver on Wednesday criticized a Denver Police Department officer for firing his Taser at an unarmed homeless man.
The Denver Justice Project, Denver Homeless Out Loud and the Holland Holland Edwards & Grossman law firm released footage from the officer’s body camera, saying the incident is an example of how police routinely use needless force.
“I just think people should be able to see what we’re doing in our city,” attorney John Holland told The Denver Post.
The groups said in a news release that it is important for Denver residents to understand how police use force as the department prepares to hold three public meetings about its proposed changes to its use of force law.
Alex Landau of the Denver Justice Project said the video is a clear reminder of why people need to pay attention to the development of the Denver Police Department’s use-of-force policy. He hopes it encourages people to participate in upcoming public forums about proposed changes to the policy.
The first community forum on the proposed changes to the Denver police use of force policy will be at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Boys and Girls Club at 3333 Holly Street.
It is the second time this month a police officer using a Taser on a homeless person has been in the spotlight.
Last week, The Denver Post reported that Officer Keith A. Graves was suspended for four daysafter using a Taser on an uncooperative, but non-threatening man who was camping in Cheesman Park.
The footage released Wednesday is from a separate incident, and it is unclear where it happened.
In the video, Officer Greg Dulayev approaches some bushes against a concrete wall and orders a man hiding there to come out. The man, identified as Gregory Heard, crawls out.
Dulayev orders Heard to stop, and when Heard takes another step forward, Dulayev fires his Taser. Heard falls and Dulayev piles on top, yelling, “Stop resisting! Stop resisting!”
During the struggle, Heard tells the officer he can’t breathe and asks to be stood up. He has a bloody nose and mouth, but it is unclear whether those injuries were suffered in a fight before the officer arrived.
Dulayev had been called because Heard was fighting with another homeless man. Heard tells officers that he was using crack cocaine.
“This guy was told to stop mid-step and got Tased while holding his hands out,” Holland said. “He was visibily unarmed.”
In the news release, Heard is quoted as saying, “Residents, along with sworn officers, have a duty to practice accountability when they fall outside of the expected parameters by disobeying the law. After assaulting me unprovoked, Officer Dulayev displayed zero remorse. He laughed at me. The officers treated me like an animal.”
The activists did not know whether Dulayev’s Taser use remains under investigation by the department’s internal affairs bureau. The Denver Post asked the police department about the investigation status but has not received a response.
