UPDATE | Aug. 21 — The case against two Colorado Springs police officers accused of improper use of force in 2021 has been dismissed, according to court documents from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit.
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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Body camera video from Colorado Springs police officers shows the moments officers used a Taser on a Marine veteran in his daughter’s hospital room after refusing to hand over personal property to officers who failed to present a warrant, according to court documents.
In April of 2019, Carl Anderson Jr.’s daughter was flown to UC Health Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs. Andersen says his fiancée accidentally hit his daughter with a vehicle while pulling out of the driveway.
“Charlotte walked into the side of the vehicle as the car was moving and got knocked over,” Andersen said.
The parents rushed to the hospital and were at their daughter’s bedside when several officers from the Colorado Springs Police Department entered the pediatrics ICU room.
Body camera video shows an officer reach toward Andersen.
“Excuse me, you cannot grab anything from my pockets,” Andersen can be heard saying in the video.
“Just give us the phone and we will be done,” an officer said.
Police were trying to confiscate the parents' phones as evidence to investigate how Charlotte was hurt.
“They never presented a warrant or any paperwork saying that they had the authority to take my personal property,” Andersen said.
During the encounter, Andersen refused to comply with police orders, and an officer steps behind him. Moments later, an officer uses a Taser on Andersen. A second Taser is deployed seconds later and officers arrest him.
David Lane, Andersen’s attorney, claims there was no reasonable suspicion or probable cause for the violent interaction.
“They were not arresting C.J. [Andersen] — they were not arresting anyone — so police have absolutely no right to demand personal property from anyone absent a warrant,” Lane said.
On July 13, 2020, Andersen filed a complaint against the City of Colorado Springs, Teller County and the officers involved in the interaction. The lawsuit claims the officers used violent force and unlawfully arrested Andersen without probable cause or suspicion that he had committed any crime while unarmed.
Andersen, a combat veteran, served in Afghanistan and says he highly respects law enforcement but feels officers crossed the line.
“One of them [officer] already had a Taser drawn and attempted to reach in my pocket to grab the cell phones,” Andersen said. “I feel anger; disappointment in the people who were supposed to be there to protect and serve us.”
He says he wants the officers involved fired and held accountable for their actions.
“What they did was wrong. They made the wrong decision,” Andersen said.
Lane says the officers involved were not disciplined for their actions.
“They need to be prosecuted,” Lane said. “A felony assault is what they did. They committed a crime, they should be doing some time.”
Andersen was charged for resisting arrest and obstructing a peace officer. Both charges were dropped.
Lane says no charges were filed against the parents for Charlotte’s injury. Charlotte made a full recovery from the accident.
Denver7 reached out to the Colorado Springs Police Department and the Teller County Sheriff’s Office. A spokesperson with each department says they can’t comment on ongoing litigation.
A spokesperson with the Colorado Springs Police Department did clarify that a complaint was not filed with the police department following the incident.
Video of the incident can be found in the player below. (Warning: some of the content may be disturbing)
