Jury weighs former Denver cop’s liability for wounding 6 bystanders in LoDo shooting

After more than three years of painful recovery and an eight-day jury trial six bystanders wounded during a police shooting in downtown Denver are hoping for several relief They were worried about the little things like getting nervous around girls the plaintiffs attorney Omeed Azmoudeh notified jurors in Denver District Court on Thursday during closing arguments in the civil scenario And then in a moment bang bang bang bang In the early hours of July the lively night atmosphere in Lower Downtown was shattered by gunshots as three Denver Police Department officers fired on -year-old Jordan Waddy who they suspected had been involved in a fight near the Larimer Beer Hall The officers Brandon Ramos Kenneth Rowland and Megan Lieberson shot Waddy as he pulled out a gun hidden in his waistband While Rowland and Lieberson shot the man from the front Ramos fired from the side toward the crowd behind Waddy By the time Ramos fired Waddy had already been shot by other officers and fallen to the ground Azmoudeh disclosed Six bystanders in the crowd were injured that night either by bullets or flying shrapnel Azmoudeh noted Ramos reckless and unreasonable conduct constitutes battery on all six casualties he added Ramos can t be the first and only person to shoot into a crowd and then say it was his only option Azmoudeh stated dismissing the officer s self-defense claim He announced Ramos and his defense have talked about the district as collateral to routine police work Peter Doherty Ramos attorney mentioned during Thursday s closing arguments that the now-former Denver police officer was trying to nip the threat of an proceeding shooter in the bud Police tried to direct Waddy back into the open street away from the crowd but he didn t listen and reached for his weapon Doherty mentioned Ramos who he noted routinely dealt with shootings and weapons-related violence in the area decided Waddy wouldn t give up and would likely escalate the situation The reasonableness of a particular use of force must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene rather than with the vision of hindsight Doherty reported referencing a U S Supreme Court decision He stated the entire trial has evaluated Ramos s actions through that hindsight with no allowances for the danger or high-stress situation The casualties suffered egregious injuries and went through an event that they shouldn t have had to endure but that doesn t make Ramos responsible Doherty announced From left to right shooting sufferers Willis Small IV Bailey Alexander and Yekalo Weldewihet speak at Rathod Mohamedbhai law firm on Wednesday Jan A grand jury indicted officer Brandon Ramos on counts stemming from the shooting in in which he and fellow officers fired at a man in the crowded LoDo neighborhood injuring bystanders Photo by AAron Ontiveroz The Denver Post Both sides disagreed on the number of bullets Ramos shot and when he fired The plaintiffs attorney commented Ramos fired twice pointing to two bullets exposed away from the main crime scene that are supposed to have injured the six bystanders The bullets tore through multiple people and ricocheted off nearby objects sending shrapnel into the crowd before settling on the pavement Azmoudeh reported But Doherty communicated jurors the evidence could only prove Ramos fired once and it wasn t clear from the body camera video where he was aiming While investigators recovered eight bullets they only revealed seven shell casings at the scene Doherty commented Nearby cameras also captured seven audio pulses and a total of seven rounds were missing from the officers weapons Ramos s gun magazine was equipped to fit an extra bullet and any of the shots fired could have masked the sound of the eighth shot since all rounds were fired in less than two seconds Azmoudeh explained Doherty dismissed both explanations as speculation The defendants do not have a unifying theory as to what happened but that s not our burden to prove Doherty noted We re not trying to throw smoke and mirrors we re just saying the evidence is missing The civil trial follows a criminal prosecution of Ramos by the Denver District Attorney s Office A grand jury indicted Ramos on criminal counts in January including second-degree assault third-degree assault prohibited use of a weapon and reckless endangerment Related Articles Denver police officer pleads guilty in LoDo shooting that wounded six bystanders Denver police officer charged in LoDo shooting pleads not guilty Four bystanders shot by Denver police officer in LoDo file civil rights lawsuit over life-altering injuries Bystanders shot by Denver police shocked by body camera videos disappointed in police response Ramos took a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to third-degree assault in the criminal incident in January He avoided jail time and was sentenced to months of probation but his conviction bars him from ever working as a police officer in Colorado again The former officer pleaded guilty to the sweetheart deal because it was too good to pass up Doherty mentioned He only pleaded to resolve the incident his attorney explained But by pleading guilty to third-degree assault Ramos admitted to knowingly or recklessly causing bodily injury Azmoudeh mentioned He inquired the jury to award the plaintiffs roughly million in damages from wages lost medicinal bills incurred pain and suffering endured and lifelong physical impairment and disfigurement You have to put a value on the pain they ve experienced he announced You have to put a value on how their bodies have changed forever The six-person jury in the civil incident began deliberations Thursday afternoon Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day