Colorado Springs man left paralyzed after arrest speaks out on lawsuit against involved officer

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – A man who said he was paralyzed during an arrest after being hit with a taser while running from Colorado Springs police spoke out publicly Tuesday for the first time about the incident and his lawsuit against an involved officer.

The May 2022 incident left Jacob Root paralyzed from the waist down. Root, who was suspected of car theft, alleges that when Colorado Springs Officer Robert Comstock fired a taser at him, it incapacitated him and prevented him from catching himself from a subsequent fall that broke his neck.

"That officer pretty much made a choice for me to be a prisoner in my own body," Root said during a Tuesday press conference in Denver, his first time speaking publicly about the lawsuit. "I'd rather have gone to prison than be in this chair."

Root has since filed a federal lawsuit against Comstock, seeking $100 million in damages. Root's attorneys claim that the officer broke CSPD policy by tasing Root without warning and when he was in an "elevated position."

“I’m not independent, I can’t feed myself,” Root said on Tuesday. “Growing up, being able to do gymnastics, to being stuck in a chair. I was free. Now, I’m stuck.”

However, in an internal affairs investigation conducted after the incident, CSPD found Comstock did not violate the department's policies and exonerated him from any wrongdoing.

"Officer Comstock is a valued employee and is in good standing with the department," CSPD said.

In an email sent out Tuesday as Root spoke, CSPD pointed to the information it had previously released and said the department would not be making any additional comments regarding the lawsuit.

You can read CSPD’s prior report and response here.