VIDEO: Inmate Gets $200K Settlement In Excessive Force Case
DENVER, CO — A Colorado inmate is receiving a $200,000 settlement in an excessive force case, his lawyer announced Thursday, according to reports. Shawn Lovett was serving time at Centennial Correctional Facility in Cañon City, FOX31 reported, when the incident happened.
Video, shown below, depicts Lovett standing in chains as prison guards Anthony Martinez and Shannon Proud prepared him for transfer to another part of the prison, the FOX31 report said.
Martinez is seen in the video behind Lovett, whose ankles were chained up. Martinez bent over and yanked the chain between Lovett’s feet up towards himself, causing Lovett to flip forward. He was unable to break his fall and his head smashed face-first into the concrete floor.
A report by the Colorado Department of Corrections’ Inspector General says there was “substantial risk” that Lovett could have died from a broken neck or a head injury after Martinez used his ankle chain “as a ‘weapon.'”
“Officer Martinez knowingly and recklessly with malicious negligence did cause serious injury to offender Shawn Lovett,” the report said.
Lovett suffered a skull fracture and blood began to pool around him, FOX31 reported.
After the incident, Martinez wrote in a report that Lovett had been kicking at him, provoking the response. The Denver Post video below, which includes graphic content, shows no physical aggression prior to Martinez pulling the chain.
Lovett was serving a 30-year sentence for sexual assault and robbery.
His lawyers say he has suffered migraines and vision loss, adding that the prison never had him scanned, even a year and a half after the incident.
The Pueblo Chieftain said Martinez was prosecuted in Fremont County for assault and was fired from the prison.
Proud pleaded guilty to filing a false report and was put on probation, FOX31 reported. He kept his job at the prison.
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