Editor's note: This story's headline has been corrected to reflect that it was Denver sheriff's deputies involved in the incident. The lead photo has also been changed.
In 2015, six deputies from Denver's Sheriff's Department took Christopher Colbruno to the hospital after they thought he ate metal. Colbruno was awaiting trial in jail, and, on the way, he soiled his jail clothing.
The deputies ended up walking Colbruno through Denver Health naked, wearing only mittens.
On Tuesday, City Council approved a $190,000 payment to Colbruno in liability claims.
"These deputy sheriffs have an obligation to at least respect the minimal human dignity of every person in their custody, and parading someone in public naked is a violation of that person's basic humanity," David Lane, Colbruno lawyer, said. According to Lane, Colbruno had a history of mental illness. Denverite could not reach Colbruno for comment.
The payment comes as payouts hit a five-year high in 2022, largely driven by lawsuits related to police misconduct during the 2020 George Floyd protests.
While the incident took place seven years ago and the successful lawsuit was filed in 2017, Council just approved the payment in 2023 because the city appealed twice, first in District Court and later in the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.
According to a former internal investigator, the Denver Sheriff Department initially tried to destroy evidence of the incident.
Hospital staff who saw the deputies bring Colbruno through the hospital reported the incident "because they found it disturbing," according to court documents.
The Sheriff's Department then ordered an internal investigation, conducted by then-investigator Brent Miller. But according to CBS News, Miller said former Captain Paul Ortega told him to destroy a videotape from the hospital, on the orders of interim-Sheriff Elias Diggins. Miller said he was fired after refusing to destroy the tape. At the time, this prompted another internal investigation into Diggins.
Mayor Michael Hanckock later tapped Diggins as Denver's official sheriff in 2020.
"It's just corruption in law enforcement," Lane said. "When the police investigate the police, it always works out very well for the police."
Neither the Denver Sheriff's Department nor Miller responded to Denverite's request for comment.
