Charles Porter, the Denver police officer acquitted Thursday of stomping on a handcuffed teenager, will remain suspended from the force until an internal police department investigation is complete, the department said today.
When he was charged with first-degree felony assault, Porter, 41, was suspended without pay, as is department policy, said Sonny Jackson, department spokesman.
Porter now is suspended with pay, he said. The internal investigation could result in Porter receiving back pay.
Juan Vasquez, then 16, suffered a lacerated liver, injured kidneys and broken ribs after he fled police on April 18. Porter, and officers Luis Rivera and Cameron Moerman chased Vasquez through an alley and into a parking lot near West 37th Avenue and Pecos Street.
Porter testified that he fell behind his partners during the chase and that by the time he caught up with Vasquez, the youth had been handcuffed by another officer.
He said Vasquez was on his stomach and complained he couldn’t breathe.
The other two officers testified that Porter caused the injuries by jumping on Vasquez’s back.
In October, the city of Denver paid Vasquez $850,000 to settle a federal police brutality lawsuit in the case.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
