AURORA | Under terms of a settlement with a man who says police manhandled him after he had a seizure, Aurora police will have to take special training to help them recognize symptoms of a seizure.
The city also agreed to pay $100,000 to the estate of Rickey Burrell to settle his lawsuit stemming from a 2010 incident at his Aurora home, according to Burrell’s lawyers. Burrell died late last year.
Mari Newman, Burrell’s lawyer, said the training will be mandatory for every Aurora police officer and show them how to recognize and deal with people suffering a seizure.
Burrell was not arrested or charged with a crime following the December 2010 incident at his Aurora home. His lawyers said he was feeling sick after he returned to his home on South Yampa Street from church that day so he went upstairs to take a nap. A short time later, he had a seizure and passed out.
His girlfriend called 911 and said the first people to respond were three Aurora police officers. The girlfriend said one of the officers came into the room and jumped on Burrell’s back, yanking the unconsciousness man’s arm behind his back. The officers then handcuffed Burrell, dragged him from the home and set him outside in the cold wearing nothing but soiled underwear, the lawsuit said.
Burrell was eventually taken to an area hospital where doctors said he suffered a broken right wrist.