A Denver police officer pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault Monday and was sentenced to two years of probation after he was caught on camera body-slamming a man into the pavement during the celebrations that followed the Nuggets’ NBA championship win last year.
Adam Glasby, 39, was charged with felony assault and official misconduct after the June 13 incident. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault Monday, and, as part of a plea agreement, the other charges against him were dismissed.
The assault conviction will mean he can no longer work as a police officer in Colorado, according to the Denver District Attorney’s Office.
Glasby currently remains on administrative leave from the Denver Police Department, spokesman Jay Casillas said Wednesday. But now that the criminal case has concluded, the police department “will begin the process of dismissing Officer Glasby” because of the conviction, he said.
Glasby and another Denver Police Department officer were working off-duty at the Hayter’s & Co. bar at 1920 Blake St. when they saw men fighting outside. Trying to break up the fight, Glasby pulled one of the men — Elijah Smith, 26 — away from the others and slammed him to the pavement, leaving him unconscious.
Glasby stayed with Smith and tried to help him after the assault. When Smith got up about two minutes later, friends walked him away, according to court records.
The incident happened about 30 minutes after 10 people were wounded in a shooting about a block away.
“Officer Glasby’s conviction sends a message that this type of behavior will not be tolerated in Denver, from a police officer or anyone else,” Denver District Attorney Beth McCann said in a news release.
An attorney for Glasby did not immediately return a request for comment.
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