Bystander shot by Denver police Officer Brandon Ramos files lawsuit

One of the five bystanders erroneously shot by a Denver police officer as bars let out in Lower Downtown last year filed a lawsuit against the officer this week.

Angelica Rey was among the bystanders shot by Officer Brandon Ramos on July 17 near Larimer and 20th streets. The officer, who was suspended after the shooting and is facing criminal charges, was aiming at a man with a gun but missed and hit the bystanders on a crowded street. Five were shot and one additional bystander was injured, police have said.

Rey, who was 23 at the time and out celebrating a promotion at work, was shot in the leg. She bled profusely and was “nearly trampled” when the crowd around her panicked after the shooting, she alleges in the lawsuit, which was filed in Denver District Court on Tuesday. A tourniquet was used on Rey’s leg, and she later learned the bullet had severed a nerve, leaving her with a permanent injury and loss of function, the lawsuit says.

She is seeking an unspecified amount in economic, punitive and non-economic damages, the lawsuit says.

An attorney representing Ramos in the criminal case against him could not immediately comment Tuesday.

The lawsuit names only Ramos as a defendant — not the Denver Police Department, where Ramos remains suspended without pay pending the outcome of the criminal case against him.

Ramos was one of three officers who shot at Jordan Waddy, 22, that night.

The officers believed they saw Waddy flash a gun during an argument, so they followed him through streets crowded with pedestrians and confronted him. Waddy then pulled a handgun from his clothing and was holding it by the slide on the top of the gun when the officers fired, body camera footage shows. He appeared to be throwing the gun down.

Two officers who shot Waddy had a clear backdrop, a grand jury investigation found. But Ramos was at a different angle and should have known he was shooting into a crowd. He is facing eight charges of assault, four counts of reckless endangerment and a single charge of reckless use of a weapon.

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