GREELEY, Colo.—The father of a teenager who was involved in an altercation with Greeley Mayor Ed Clark has notified the city that he plans to sue, claiming his son’s civil rights were violated.
Tim Stitt said his family suffered humiliation, public scorn and economic loss and will seek $500,000 in damages for the confrontation in June between Clark and Remington Stitt, 15.
Stitt said Friday that he sent a letter notifying the city of his intent to sue. To file a lawsuit against a governmental entity in Colorado, a person must give notice within six months of the incident.
Stitt said “it’s just a matter of when” he will sue.
“I’d like Ed Clark to admit what he did was wrong. Anybody else in that situation would have been arrested that night,” Stitt said.
Clark and the city attorney declined to comment Friday.
The Stitts say in June, Clark threw the 15-year-old the ground when he refused to stop riding his motorbike and held the youth until police arrived.
Clark has said he stopped the boy for his own safety and didn’t hurt him.
The teen was ticketed for driving a motor vehicle without a license and operating an off-road vehicle on the street.
Witnesses said Remington Stitt, Clark and Clark’s wife, Erin, have a history of run-ins in the neighborhood.
After the incident, the Stitts received a temporary restraining order against the mayor. In July, Clark was cleared of criminal wrongdoing by the Larimer County District Attorney.
A Weld County judge then rejected the Stitts’ request for a permanent restraining order against Clark.
