Denver officer investigated for body slamming man in fight after NBA Finals

A uniformed Denver police officer caught on video tackling a man outside a bar during a fracas after the mass shooting following the Nuggets’ NBA Finals victory was working off-duty and has been removed from patrol duties, police confirmed Friday.

And Denver Police Department officials said they have launched an internal investigation of this incident.

The video shows Officer Adam Glasby slamming Elijah Smith, a 26-year-old father of four from Roseville, Calif., to the pavement, according to Denver attorney Mark Bryant, who is representing Smith.

As Glasby and other bouncers were working to clear the Hayters bar,1920 Blake St. in downtown Denver around 1 a.m. – about a half hour after the shooting that wounded 10 people about a block away – a fight broke out in the street outside the bar and Smith intervened when two men were attacking his friend, Bryant said. Smith had thrown a punch and then backed off “and the next thing he knew he was down on his head,” Bryant said. A formal complaint has been filed with the police.

“It appears that, without warning, there was excessive force used against an individual who was not aggressing an officer,” Bryant said. “What the harm is, we are still trying to measure it.” Friends took Smith to the Denver Health Medical Center where he received treatment for a head injury involving brain bleeding and Smith subsequently has been treated at another hospital for symptoms including spinal pain and blurred vision, Bryant said.

Denver police officials “proactively opened an internal affairs investigation regarding this situation involving Officer Adam Glasby, who has been placed in a non-patrol assignment pending the outcome of the investigation,” agency spokesman Douglas Schepman said.

“Officer Glasby was working off-duty at the time of the incident and was not part of the on-duty post-game safety operation.”

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