Man speaks about alleged assault by Colorado Springs Police

A Colorado Springs man said he was assaulted by Colorado Springs police officers outside Cowboys Night Club downtown and is now suing nine officers in the department.

Video captured by surveillance cameras show Grant Bloomquist in an altercation with officers. Bloomquist said he had just walked out of Cowboys Night Club when he saw officers beating a black man. Bloomquist said the men were pleading with officers to stop hitting him and when officers didn’t stop, Bloomquist decided to intervene.

“When you see someone pleading like that, I think it’s pretty natural for a lot of people to say stop that. For whatever reason, the officers felt like I stepped across some so imaginary line I wasn’t supposed to cross,” said Bloomquist.

Bloomquist said a police officer punched him in the face, his head his the concrete and he lost consciousness. He said once he regained consciousness, he started yelling “police brutality” and that’s when officers started kicking him repeatedly.

“I collapsed downwards and they threw me in the squad car,” said Bloomquist.

According to police reports, officers said Bloomquist jumped on an officer’s back as they were trying to arrest another man, Domineke Johnson. Officers reported that Bloomquist was aggressive and firing off insults at the officers. One officer noted he saw another officer punch Bloomquist in the face.

Bloomquist said he continues to have neck pain from whiplash he suffered during the incident. Cartilage in his neck has been damaged and he expects he will continue to have pain the rest of his life.

Colorado Springs Police Department just received a $600,000 grant to purchase body cameras. Bloomquist said body cameras will help hold officers accountable. He said he respects law enforcement, but it’s also important to stand up for what’s right.

“They have got a rough job. When you deal with people in society at that level, it’s easy to be jaded and treat all of society like they are criminals. And I try to respect that as much as I can but it is really difficult to do that when you are seeing them using that type of excessive force. And I think as a society, we need to start focusing on accountability,” said Bloomquist.

A CSPD spokesperson said the department cannot comment because an outcome has not reached in the lawsuit.