The family of an unarmed Colorado Springs man who died after being handcuffed and held to the ground during a mental health crisis in November 2022 filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against the police officer and former paramedic involved in the altercation.
Kevin Dizmang, 63, died Nov. 15, 2022, after an encounter with a Colorado Springs community response team consisting of Colorado Springs police officer Sean Reed, fire department paramedic Nick Fisher and a mental health clinician.
The complaint, filed in federal district court Tuesday, alleges Reed and Fisher caused Dizmang’s wrongful death, that Fisher used unauthorized and excessive force during the incident and that Reed failed his duty to intervene in an excessive use of force.
“Mr. Dizmang was in physical and mental distress,” attorney Harry Daniels said at a news conference in Colorado Springs on Tuesday. “He needed help. He wasn’t a threat to the community, he wasn’t a criminal, he was having a mental crisis.”
Daniels, an attorney from Atlanta, is representing Dizmang’s estate and his daughter Kenda James in the case. Colorado Springs attorney Kevin Mehr and South Carolina attorney and former state representative Bakari Sellers are also representing Dizmang’s estate and James.
The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and unspecified monetary damages.
Dizmang was experiencing a mental health crisis related to PTSD and schizophrenia and destroying the RV where he lived alone when his family called 911 for help, according to the lawsuit.
Dizmang was “in a clearly confused and panicked state” when first contacted by the response team just after 5 p.m. and was walking into traffic on Mount View Lane near the Cragmor Mobile Home Park, the lawsuit states.
Body-worn camera footage shows Dizmang did not comply with Reed’s commands to put his hands behind his back and struggled when Reed tried to put his arms behind his back. Fisher eventually tackled Dizmang to the ground.
Fisher used his body to hold Dizmang down while Reed handcuffed him, the footage shows, and Dizmang stopped responding during the altercation. After a few minutes, Reed and Fisher rolled him onto his side, sat him up and called for an ambulance.
Emergency medical personnel loaded him into an ambulance and began CPR, and Dizmang was later pronounced dead at Penrose Hospital.
The lawsuit alleges Reed did not give Dizmang a chance to calm down and comply with his orders and that Fisher put Dizmang in a chokehold after he tackled him and used his body weight on Dizmang’s neck and back, which hindered his ability to breathe.
“Despite being unresponsive and unconscious, Kevin remained handcuffed behind his back for nearly seven minutes before he was loaded onto a stretcher and moved into an ambulance,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit also alleges Fisher bragged and laughed about tackling Dizmang with another officer and charge nurse in the emergency room while hospital staff attempted to resuscitate Dizmang in the next room.
Dizmang’s death was ruled a homicide by the El Paso County Coroner’s Office, and his cause of death was cardiac arrest “in the setting of physical restraint,” according to the coroner’s report.
Methamphetamine intoxication, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, an enlarged heart and other health conditions also contributed to his death.
Dizmang was put into a “bear hug” hold when he was restrained, according to the coroner’s report, which also noted bruises, cuts and scrapes to his arms, legs, abdomen, back and neck.
The case was investigated by the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and turned over to the Fourth Judicial District Attorney’s Office for review. The district attorney’s office found the actions of Reed and Fisher were justified and declined to file charges in the case, according to spokesperson Kate Singh.
Daniels disagreed with that finding on Tuesday.
“One thing we know for a fact is that Mr. Dizmang died at the hands of another person,” Daniels said. “They were there to help Mr. Dizmang, but they killed him.”
The Colorado Springs Police Department and Colorado Springs Fire Department declined to comment on the pending litigation and referred to a joint statement issued in February 2023 about the incident, which described the investigation into Dizmang’s death and information about community response teams.
“Unfortunately, even with all of the training and expertise on this CRT team, we can’t control every factor involved in an interaction with a community member such as the actions, underlying medical conditions and intoxication of the involved person prior to our involvement,” the statement said.
Reed is still employed by the police department and is now in a new role by his choice, according to the department. He is listed as a school resource officer on the city’s website.
Reed did not face any disciplinary action from the incident, the department said Tuesday.
Fisher resigned from the Colorado Springs Fire Department on June 17, according to spokesperson Ashley Franco.
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