COLORADO SPRINGS — A Black Lives Matter protestor filed a lawsuit against Colorado Springs Police Officer Keith Wrede for an incident in June of 2020.
Celia Palmer is suing the officer, she says, to hold him accountable for assaulting her while she was leaving a Black Lives Matter protest in the city. Palmer’s attorney, Andy McNulty, said Officer Wrede tackled Palmer from behind. He said that occurred as Palmer complied with unlawful police commands to disperse during a protest in response to the deaths of George Floyd, De’Von Bailey, and other Black men and women.
Around that time period, it was discovered that Officer Wrede, using a pseudonym, wrote “Kill em all” on a Facebook live story covering Black Lives Matter protestors who blocked traffic on I-25. According to CSPD, Wrede was disciplined with one week of unpaid leave.
“Colorado Springs could care less about the freedom of speech or the lives of protesters. The fact that Officer Wrede still wears a badge and carries a gun tells you all you need to know about Colorado Springs and its utter disdain for the Bill of Rights,” McNulty said. “Officer Wrede is just the latest symptom of the diseased system of policing in Colorado Springs and this country. He is not the only bad apple, the whole barrel is spoiled.”
McNulty said Palmer is plagued with symptoms of the traumatic brain injury caused by Wrede, adding the lawsuit it seeking to hold the officer accountable for his actions.
“It was both physically and emotionally traumatic to be assaulted by a cop and have my head slammed into the sidewalk while following an order to disperse,” Palmer said. “What is more disturbing, however, is that this level of violence—and worse—is completely characteristic of policing in communities of color in our city and across the country. And that CSPD is blatantly unconcerned by its own murderous tendencies.”
FOX21 News reached out to CSPD for comment on the matter. A department representative wrote:
“CSPD appreciates FOX21 reaching out to our organization to discuss this incident, but we are unable to speak on any matter that is under litigation.”
