Police recruit lost legs from injuries in ‘Fight Day’ hazing ritual, lawsuit says
Victor Moses hoped to join the Denver Police Department, but the officers he trained with during a four-stage event known as “Fight Day” weren’t stopped from assaulting him while he was clearly experiencing a medical crisis, according to a new lawsuit.
Moses’ head was slammed onto a tile floor, he was knocked unconscious and collapsed multiple times during the training on Jan. 6, 2023, according to a complaint filed July 30.
Despite this, police officers “pressured” him to continue — and two paramedics cleared Moses to keep going — while he was unable to stand up on his own, the complaint says.
He was “catastrophically injured and permanently disabled” from the Denver Police Academy’s recruit training exercise that the complaint says “has become a barbaric hazing ritual.”
Moses’ injuries sent him into a coma and resulted in the amputation of his legs, according to the complaint. He has been in constant pain since then, the complaint says.
“It is extremely hard to find the will to keep living. Saying my life has been ruined is a complete understatement,” Moses said in statements included in the complaint.
“I’ll never get to have the feeling of sand going between my toes or the feeling of the ocean waves splashing against my feet. I can’t even tie my shoes to put on my fake plastic feet,” Moses said.
Moses, 29, was raised in Tallahassee, Florida, and graduated from Florida State University in 2016, according to his attorneys. When he was 27, he moved to Denver because he planned to become a member of the city’s police force, the lawsuit says.
Now he’s suing the city and county of Denver, several police employees and officers, the Denver Health and Hospital Authority and two of the hospital’s paramedics who were trained by the facility. The paramedics were in charge of monitoring the police recruit training drills, the lawsuit says.
The Denver Police Department told McClatchy News on July 31 that it “does not comment on pending litigation.”
Denver Health told McClatchy News on July 31 that “safety and well-being is a top priority for Denver Health and its paramedics” and declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Kerry C. Tipper, Denver’s city attorney, didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment.
The training and ‘brutality’
When Moses applied to the Denver Police Academy, he disclosed that he had sickle cell trait — which the academy’s medical history form identifies as a risk factor for a life-threatening condition called rhabdomyolysis, the lawsuit says.
According to the complaint, Moses’ injuries from “Fight Day” resulted in him developing a few conditions, including rhabdomyolysis, which can be caused by “direct or indirect muscle injury,” WebMD reports online. A person’s muscles begin to break down and “die,” and can potentially lead to death.
Moses was cleared to undergo police academy training and “Fight Day,” which involves recruits participating in arrest and self-defense scenarios, by a Denver Health doctor, the complaint says.
To become a Denver police officer, recruits must pass the event’s four drills, according to the complaint.
“Fight Day both encourages Denver police to engage in brutality and to be indifferent to the injuries they inflict,” attorney John Holland said.
The city doesn’t mention “Fight Day” online, but acknowledges “recruit training is a very challenging and demanding process” that lasts 26 weeks.
On Jan. 6, 2023, before Moses began his “Fight Day Gauntlet,” several recruits were already injured, including one whose nose was broken, according to the complaint.
After Moses finished the first stage, he moved on to the baton drill while feeling “very fatigued,” the complaint says.
That’s when several officers knocked Moses down to the floor, causing him to hit his head, pass out and collapse, according to the complaint.
Moses told paramedics he was “extremely fatigued” and had “extreme leg cramping” — a warning sign in people with sickle cell trait, the complaint says.
“If this had been a football game he would have not been allowed back in the game after he hit his head,” Holland said.
Moses is hospitalized
Though Moses was “obviously incapacitated and unable to move,” the third drill began, according to the complaint.
During this phase, one officer “began ‘ground fighting’ and wrestling with” Moses, “hitting him in the head several times,” the complaint says.
Moses eventually went limp and became unconscious, according to the complaint.
He was transported to a hospital, “near death,” where he arrived with a high heart rate, low blood pressure and other symptoms, the complaint says.
He developed severe conditions, including rhabdomyolysis, had to be intubated and was in a coma, according to the complaint.
Moses’ legs were amputated below his knees as part of several surgeries he had, the complaint says.
Now he no longer has function in his right arm and his “left arm is barely functional,” Moses said in the complaint.
He is unable to perform daily activities and has missed out on time with family and friends.
“My future is uncertain. I have to check the ends of my stumps for signs of infection, because they can always get cut higher. I’m always reminded this by my doctor and therapists,” Moses said.
With his lawsuit, he is demanding a trial by jury and seeking economic damages, compensatory and consequential damages and punitive damages.
This story was originally published July 31, 2024 at 11:23 AM with the headline "Police recruit lost legs from injuries in ‘Fight Day’ hazing ritual, lawsuit says."
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