Greeley City Council approves $100,000 settlement in police officer chokehold case – BizWest

GREELEY – The Greeley City Council this week quietly resolved a three-year-old chokehold by police officer case in which a city police officer placed a suspect in a chokehold while detaining him in a public building.

The City Council agreed to settle the resulting lawsuit against the officer for $100,000 and approved the settlement without discussion at its regular meeting this week.

The settlement came after Matthew Wilson sued former Greeley police officer Ken Amick. According to his lawsuit, Wilson was at the city hall on June 7, 2021, “attempting to offer his fire suppression system services and products” when Amick and other officers were dispatched to the scene. The lawsuit states that officers spoke with Wilson for several minutes and learned that there was a warrant for Wilson's arrest.

“Officer Amick handcuffed the plaintiff and stated that he was doing so to search him for his safety. Officer Amick did not inform the plaintiff that he was under arrest. As Officer Amick led the plaintiff out of the municipal building, he pushed him toward the door and then placed the plaintiff in a chokehold, causing the plaintiff to pass out and fall to his knees. Other officers who arrived intervened and forced Officer Amick to release the chokehold. It was only at this point that the plaintiff was informed that there was a warrant for his arrest,” the lawsuit states.

In Colorado, police officers are prohibited from using chokeholds on suspects. The lawsuit states that Amick recently took part in such training.

However, while he was walking Wilson to the patrol car, according to the indictment, Amick “began to strike the plaintiff with his knees, knocking him to the ground and forcing his head into the concrete while angrily cursing at him.”

Amick was fired from the Greeley Police Department and criminally charged for the incident. Amick later pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor.

As part of the settlement, Wilson agreed to drop the lawsuit against Amick in U.S. District Court.