Denver police officer being investigated for body slamming man: "I just don't want no one to ever feel that"
Elijah Smith says watching the now-viral video showing him violently slammed on the ground is painful.
"It kind of replays how I felt with the ringing in my ears, my vision going white with lines," he said.
Smith suffered a brain bleed as a result and now wears his sunglasses to help with light sensitivity and uses a cane because of balance issues.
"I just don't want no one to ever feel that it was something I never felt in my life," he said.
The 26-year-old father of four came to Denver from California to celebrate a close friend's birthday.
It was the same night Nuggets fans poured into the streets after the championship game.
"Everyone was looking good and having a great time," he said.
Around 1 a.m., an hour after a mass shooting in the same area, they left the bar on Blake Street. One of his friends was involved in a fight.
Smith says he tried breaking it up and admits he threw a punch and then walked away from the scuffle.
"There's nothing going on near me, but bystanders," Smith said while watching the video.
That's when, Adam Glasby, an off-duty Denver police officer in uniform, approached him and the result was captured by one of those bystanders. The video was shared thousands of times on social media.
Mark Bryant is Smith's attorney.
"I think my reaction to the video is the same of any human, 'oh my god, I mean, wow,'" Bryant said.
He says a formal complaint against the department was filed by Smith and the video alone raised numerous concerns about the use of this type of force.
"Was he aggressive? The man didn't have any weapons on him, he wasn't actively engaged in a fight this is outside the establishment he was at. So, I'm trying to comprehend what precipitated this," Bryant said.
Smith doesn't know who shot the now-viral video and at first thought he'd never watch it.
It was his friends and family who convinced him it should be shared.
"At first I said, 'no it's embarrassing,' he's like, 'no people need to see,'" Smith said.
CBS News Colorado did reach out to Denver police as the department responded with statement saying:
"The Department proactively opened an Internal Affairs investigation regarding this situation involving Officer Adam Glasby, who has been placed in a non-patrol assignment (not suspended) pending the outcome of the investigation. For clarification, Officer Glasby was working off-duty at the time of the incident and was not part of the on-duty post-game safety operation. We are unable to provide any additional information at this time since we are in the early stages of this internal investigation."
Bryant says they have already approached businesses in the area asking them to preserve any surveillance videos that might show the moments leading up to the take down.
