Denver settles protest lawsuits by men injured by police projectiles

Denver is set to pay $465,000 to settle a lawsuit filed on behalf of two men shot in the head with less-lethal projectiles by police officers during the George Floyd protests in 2020.

Nicholas Orlin and Shawn Murphy jointly sued the city and up to five unknown police officers in January 2022, seeking damages for eye and facial injuries they sustained in those incidents while protesting against police brutality on May 30, 2020. Settlement payments were on the Denver City Council’s agenda for approval Monday afternoon.

Both men have also received payments from the city of Aurora in the same case, according to their attorneys.

An amended version of the complaint identified Aurora police officer Cory Budaj as the person who fired the projectile that injured Orlin and Aurora police sergeant Matthew Brukbacher as the one who fired the projectile at Murphy.

Orlin and Murphy did not know each other but were both near Lincoln Park at the intersection of Colfax Avenue and Lincoln Street that evening, according to the lawsuit.

Orlin was knocked unconscious by an unknown hard projectile after covering a tear gas canister with a traffic cone, according to the suit. A short time later, Murphy was shot in the face with a hard projectile after he kicked away a tear gas canister.

In both instances, officers did not issue warnings before firing, according to the plaintiffs’ attorneys. Both men suffered from vision problems and facial disfigurement after the incidents.

The two settlement agreements with the city of Denver designated $210,000  for Orlin and $255,000 for Murphy.

Orlin already had been granted $100,000 through a settlement with Aurora. Murphy received $175,000 from that city, according to attorney Birk Baumgartner, adding up total compensation of $310,000 and $430,000 for the two men, respectively.