Springs officer disciplined for caught on camera incident at center of lawsuit

The Colorado Springs Police Department says it has completed its investigation into a caught on camera incident that led to a lawsuit being filed against the department.

Alexis Acker filed a civil lawsuit against Colorado Springs Police in July.

Surveillance video from inside Memorial Hospital shows Acker, then 18, in handcuffs. It shows Officer Tyler Walker pushing her onto a chair, Acker kicking him, then Walker shoving her onto the ground.

In a statement released by the police department on September 4, 2015, Chief Pete Carey says that the internal investigation into the incident has been completed and that the investigation found that Walker did violate department policy.

Police say Walker was disciplined as a result of that finding, but that he remains an employee of the department.

CSPD says it cannot provide additional details or comment because of the pending lawsuit, however it did release information about the specific section of the conduct code that Walker violated. The section is titled “Treatment of Offenders” and reads as follows:

Treatment of Offenders To offend a police employee’s personal feelings is not a crime. A citizen will not be mistreated physically, psychologically or verbally, nor will the processes of booking and charging be delayed, or otherwise altered, as a means of punishing an offender or gaining revenge. When encountering defensive resistance, active aggression, or aggravated active aggression to legitimate law-enforcement efforts, officers may use appropriate physical force which is necessary to gain compliance, effect an arrest, prevent an escape, or defend themselves from the use of, or imminent use of physical force by others. The nature and degree of force used by officers must be in direct response to the actual or imminent use of force being used against them, and must de-escalate or cease once the offender has become compliant, or has stopped physically resisting, or is no longer a threat to cause harm to officers or others. Use of physical force should also comply with the Use of Force Continuum using the Situational Force Model shown in General Order 705.

Acker’s lawyer said they have no comment regarding the police department’s investigation.