A federal jury Thursday rejected a man’s claim that a Denver police officer violated his civil rights and injured his hand during a 2007 encounter.
Instead, the jury found Officer Vicki Ferrari not liable in the civil case.
David Kraus, the former manager of a Grease Monkey car-repair shop on East Colfax Avenue in Denver, sued Ferrari in 2008, saying she wrongfully arrested him the year before when he attempted to get Ferrari to move her patrol car from partially blocking the entrance to his shop. He claimed Ferrari was out of control and handcuffed him so tightly during the arrest that it caused permanent damage to his right hand.
The officer countered that Kraus was irate during the encounter and presented a threat to her and fellow officers. She arrested Kraus for interference with police and for a weapons violation. Both charges were later dismissed.
Sean Olson, an attorney for Ferrari, said the verdict showed that jurors believed Ferrari’s testimony.
“Vicki Ferrari acted lawfully that day,” Olson said. “We had confidence that Officer Ferrari had done everything right.”
Kraus’ attorney, David Lane, said the verdict showed the high bar plaintiffs face when trying to convince a jury that a police officer did something wrong. That is especially true, he said, when there is no video or audio evidence documenting the incident, which there wasn’t in this case. Medical tests were also not able to document the hand damage Kraus said he suffered, and Kraus acknowledged during the trial he has a history of arthritis in his hands.
“We took our best shot, and we didn’t win,” Lane said. “But when we have a case we believe in, we’re going to keep trying those cases.”
Ferrari, who is still a Denver officer, was a one-time contestant on the television show “American Gladiators.”
John Ingold: 303-954-1068 or jingold@denverpost.com
