Denver is paying $2.3 million to a man who lost an eye after being shot in face during the 2020 protests

In 2020, Jax Feldmann was shot in the face with a PepperBall by a Denver Police officer during the George Floyd protests. He ultimately lost an eye.

Now, the city is paying Feldmann $2.3 million in the latest of a slew of costly settlements involving injuries from police during the protests. City Council approved the payment Monday.

According to Feldmann's lawyer, Birk Baumgartner, Feldmann was not protesting himself, but ended up shot in the face by an officer with a PepperBall after telling him "We're all American."

That officer, Diego Archuleta, was suspended for his actions during the protests and later resigned, the Denver post reports.

"The city still does not accept any responsibility for blinding Jax and disfiguring him for the rest of his life," Baumgartner said.

Denverite has reached out to the Denver Police Department for comment. We'll update when we hear back.

Baumgartner said neither he nor his client were pleased with the outcome, but that Feldmann was too exhausted with the process to continue.

Baumgartner said that the city likely would have appealed any ruling were the case to go to court. Instead they settled, which means the city did not have to admit culpability.

"It's hard to quantify, but $2.3 million for blinding somebody is clearly inadequate and the reason Jax accepted that is because he simply could not face going to trial," he said.

Not long after the 2020 protests, Feldmann spoke out about what happened.

"Everything's harder," Feldmann told 9News in 2020. "I'm vulnerable on my left side. Anybody can walk up to me and do anything they want. I'm very vulnerable."

More than three years later, Baumgartner said that Feldmann, who was 21 at the time, continues to struggle with adapting to life with a prosthetic eye.

"He's had his life irreparably changed at a very young age," Baumgartner said. "He moved to Denver excited at the opportunities he would find here and instead he found disfigurement, pain and suffering and a city that is completely uncaring."

Feldmann is just one of dozens of people who have settled with the city or won jury trials related to police misconduct during the George Floyd protests.

In 2023, Denver paid more than $9 million to people injured.

Councilmember Shontel Lewis said before the approval that her and other Councilmembers are tracking tax dollars paid out in settlements with the city.

"I wanted to be clear to everyone watching that we are paying attention," she said.

Baumgartner, who has worked on a number of police misconduct cases dating to the 2020 protests, said he sees the settlements as a pattern.

"It's disappointing in a very moral sense that the city of Denver has decided to act like an insurance company or a corporation," he said.