Recruit Sues Denver Police Over 'Barbaric Hazing Ritual'

Victor Moses had to have both his legs amputated after collapsing during 'fight day'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 30, 2024 7:15 PM CDT
Recruit Sues Denver Police Over 'Barbaric Hazing Ritual'
Victor Moses holds a framed photograph of the class that he was part of at the Denver Police Department academy.   (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

A police recruit who had to have both of his legs amputated after losing consciousness and repeatedly collapsing during fight training at Denver's police academy is suing those who allegedly forced him to continue the "barbaric hazing ritual" after paramedics ignored warning signs.

  • Victor Moses, 29, alleges in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that aggressive officers knocked him down multiple times in the second round of "fight day" last year, with one of them shoving him off the mat and causing him to hit his head on the floor, the AP reports. He said he was pressured to continue, with officers picking him up and setting him back on his feet, before paramedics standing by were asked to check him out, the lawsuit said.

  • Moses told them he had the sickle cell trait, which puts him at an increased risk of medical complications from high-intensity exercise. He also said he had very low blood pressure and complained that his legs were cramping, according to the lawsuit. The symptoms are danger signs for people with his condition. Neverthelsss, paramedics cleared Moses to return to training, which the suit alleges was a decision made to support the police.
  • All recruits must complete the training to prepare them physically and mentally for fights they could encounter on the street. It includes having recruits punch and kick a dummy or a trainer holding pads, using a padded baton to fight trainers, wrestling, and practicing to arrest a suspect who assaults them, according to the lawsuit.
  • The legal action alleges the practice is an unnecessarily violent rite of passage that recruits have to endure to be accepted into the police "fraternity." It notes that other recruits suffered injuries before Moses started his drills, including one person whose nose was broken.

  • The lawsuit claims paramedics cleared Moses to continue the training on Jan. 6, 2023 even though he was not able to stand or walk to the next round—wrestling. Instead, a trainer came to Moses and got on top of him. The recruit soon said he could not breathe, became unresponsive and was taken to the hospital, according to the lawsuit.
  • Moses' lawyers say that when he was eventually taken to the hospital, police misled doctors by not revealing that he had hit his head on the floor, compromising the care doctors were able to provide.
  • Moses remained in the hospital for over four months, had both of his legs amputated below the knee, and underwent surgery in July to try to restore his grip in one hand. Now he wonders what would have happened if police had just stopped the training. "I more than likely could still have my legs. I more than likely could still have my sanity. I could have been a police officer had you just not hazed us," he tells the AP.
(More Denver stories.)

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