The Denver Post
Profiling lawsuit is settled for $75,000
The Denver man claims two officers roughed him up because he's black.
By Alicia Caldwell

Thursday, October 28, 2004

The realization hit Terrill Johnson as he sat in the back of a police car: He was sure he did nothing wrong, but he was becoming convinced that it didn't matter.

In the front seat, two Denver police officers talked about the charges he'd likely face. His anger grew as he thought about how officers pulled guns on him and slammed into his wife's car.

That's why a tentative $75,000 settlement of his federal lawsuit against the city of Denver , announced Wednesday, brought the airline mechanic a sense of justice.

"They tried to make me out to be some sort of low-life gang member," said Johnson, 32, an African-American who said he was a victim of racial profiling. "They just did a character assassination on me."

Denver City Attorney Cole Finegan said his office looked at the facts, weighed the costs of going to trial against settling, and decided to settle.

The city, Finegan said, admits no wrongdoing in the agreement, which must be approved by the City Council. As for Johnson's request for a meeting with Mayor John Hickenlooper, Finegan said, "... We certainly will do our best to make that happen."

The incident began just before midnight on April 11, 2002 . Johnson, an Air Force veteran, was on his way home from his job as a mechanic at Frontier Airlines.

He was heading west on Interstate 70 when he realized a patrol car was following him closely. The car pulled up alongside Johnson's 1985 Oldsmobile Cutlass, and a police officer shined a spotlight into his car, according to the lawsuit.

The officers drove off, and Johnson said he thought nothing more of it - until he found them outside his home. He was taking out the garbage when he saw police shining a light into his car. Then, he said in his lawsuit, the officers slammed into his wife's car.

As he went to inspect the damage, he said that officers Troy Ortega and Louis Estrada, members of the Denver gang unit, drew their guns and yelled, "Throw down your weapon" and "Don't move or I'll shoot your black (expletive deleted)."

Johnson said he was not armed. Officers slammed him into a police car, and punched and handcuffed him, he said.Johnson was taken to jail and charged with two minor traffic violations and disobeying a lawful order, charges that later were dropped.

He believes he was arrested because he is African-American and was driving a Cutlass, a car popular among gang members.

He is married, has two children, a career and no criminal record. Johnson said he would like an apology from the police officers involved.

"They knew they were wrong," Johnson said. "I don't think it's out of the question."