The Columbus Police Department has acknowledged that a newly-hired officer is the subject of a pending civil rights complaint in federal court in Colorado related to his conduct on the job, but felt “comfortable” hiring him after reviewing the case and doing an “extra-thorough” background check.
The lawsuit, filed Jan. 14, 2020 in U.S. District Court in Denver, alleges that Matthew Anderson, who was a Colorado Springs police officer at the time, pinned a Colorado man to the hood of his squad car and wrenched his arm before issuing him a citation for jaywalking, which the complaint clams was in retaliation for flipping the officer off and filming him.
CPD spokesman Lt. Matt Harris said Anderson voluntarily disclosed the pending lawsuit during the application process. CPD detectives spoke with Anderson’s supervisors and the internal affairs unit at the Colorado Springs Police Department about the incident and reviewed his complete police record, which Harris described as “exemplary.”
“It’s not uncommon for law enforcement agencies to be sued,” Harris said. “It’s something that we see in Columbus and more often in law enforcement departments in general, more often than people might think. It’s obviously something that we looked at very, very closely. But after looking at the facts as we saw them, we felt comfortable continuing on with the hiring process.”
On June 7, 2019, a Colorado man, identified in the complaint as Michael Sexton, raised his middle finger and flipped off Anderson as the officer drove past him in Colorado Springs, the 31-page lawsuit states. After seeing Sexton’s gesture, Anderson allegedly made a U-turn across four lanes of traffic and asked Sexton if he needed help.
When Sexton told the officer that he didn’t, Anderson started to drive away but then allegedly performed another U-turn after observing Sexton cross the street where there was no crosswalk, according to the lawsuit.
Sexton then flipped off Anderson again and started to film the officer on his cellphone.
“Defendant Anderson jumped out of his vehicle and grabbed Mr. Sexton,” the lawsuit states. “Defendant Anderson used force against Mr. Sexton within seconds of the initiation of the interaction. Defendant Anderson pulled Mr. Sexton to the police car by his wrist and shoved Mr. Sexton against, and over, the hood of his vehicle.”
The lawsuit claims that Sexton was handcuffed “for nearly 30 minutes” and issued a ticket for jaywalking after he “expressed his First Amendment-protected speech by flipping off the car.”
Video of the incident posted on Sexton’s YouTube channel the following day shows an officer who later identifies himself as Anderson exiting his police vehicle and approaching Sexton, saying, “You just jaywalked” before covering Sexton’s camera with his hand.
The camera then falls to the ground. Off screen, Anderson is heard telling Sexton to turn around and not to move as Sexton protests and asks the officer to calm down. Anderson then tells Sexton why he was being issued a citation for jaywalking.
At one point, Anderson asks Sexton, “Why were you making obscene gestures the whole time? That’s weird, too, right?”
After Sexton replied, claiming that he had a “First Amendment right” to do so, Anderson said, “Yeah, but you also just can’t jaywalk, buddy. So you’re going to get a ticket, alright?”
At another point in the video, Sexton is heard attempting to draw attention to another individual he claims had just crossed the street at a similar spot that he had. Anderson appears to acknowledge this to Sexton, but says, “well, sir, since you pay our bills and stuff, we want to give you our full attention,” likely in reference to comments Sexton made earlier in the video that he was a “tax-paying citizen and I pay your guys’ salary.”
In March 2020, the City of Colorado Springs filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming that Anderson “had arguable probable cause to detain and ticket” Sexton for jaywalking and that Anderson and the city have “qualified immunity,” a legal doctrine that shields public officials, including police, from lawsuits seeking monetary damages as a result of actions done in the scope of their job.
The motion further claims that it was “objectively reasonable” for Anderson to place Sexton in handcuffs because the unprovoked gestures “would cause a reasonable officer contacting him concern that he was a potentially dangerous individual.”
As of Thursday, the case was still pending in federal court as a judge weighs arguments for and against the motion to dismiss the complaint, according to court records.
In criminal court, the jaywalking charge against Sexton was dismissed three months later, and Anderson allegedly was reprimanded for violating the police department’s discretionary judgment policy, the lawsuit claims.
However, Harris said there may be some “confusion” about the extent to which Anderson was disciplined.
The internal affairs unit at the Colorado Springs Police Department looked into the incident and Anderson “was cleared of any wrongdoing,” Harris said. Anderson was not suspended due to the incident or found to have violated the law, Harris said.
Harris said the equivalent action at CPD would be a “counseling session” in which a supervisor would discuss an incident with an officer. These counseling sessions are done on a regular basis at CPD, and they are documented in personnel records.
“When (Anderson) explained it and the way internal affairs and everybody out there (described the disciplinary action), it wouldn’t even be considered written up,” Harris said. “It was a counseling session that was documented in regards to officer discretion in making those types of stops. It doesn’t say that the stop was illegal or bad or wrong. It was just simply a counseling session.”
“The way it was described to us (by Colorado Springs police), it was the lowest step that existed in their discipline process,” Harris added later in the interview.
Colorado Springs Police Department spokesman Lt. James Sokolik said Anderson worked for the department from March 16, 2015 to March 5, 2021, when he voluntarily resigned to take a job at CPD “to be nearer to family.”
Anderson went to high school in Lexington, Kentucky, said CPD Chief Mike Richardson during the March 16 Columbus Board of Works meeting before Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop swore in the new officer.
CPD said Anderson was not available for comment, citing the pending litigation.
The incident with Anderson has not been Sexton’s only run in with the Colorado Springs Police Department. It also isn’t the only lawsuit Sexton has filed against that department.
Last year, Sexton filed another lawsuit against the Colorado Springs Police Department and several of its officers, accusing them unlawfully arresting him on disorderly conduct charges after he yelled “(expletive) the police” at a group of officers that were performing a “speed trap” in downtown Colorado Springs in 2019, according to the complaint, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Denver this past July. The case is still pending, according to court records.
Colorado Springs is about a 70-mile drive south of Denver and is the second largest city in Colorado, with an estimated population of 478,221, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
As of Tuesday, the Colorado Springs Police Department had 727 uniformed officers, Sokolik said.
Harris said Anderson received 15 awards and commendations during his tenure as a Colorado Springs police officer, including a medal of valor award for his actions during a 2015 mass shooting at a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood clinic in which three people died, including a Colorado Springs police officer, and eight other were injured.
Harris described CPD’s background checks during the hiring process as “extremely detailed,” especially for applicants who already have law enforcement experience. The hiring process is managed by detectives and also includes polygraph tests and speaking with previous employers and, sometimes, with people who know the applicant but aren’t listed as references, including ex-girlfriends or ex-boyfriends.
“We would much rather err on the side of being conservative when hiring somebody to make sure we’re bringing the right people into this community to be police officers, and like I said, after speaking with the detective and our police command staff, they felt very comfortable hiring Anderson due to his record,” Harris said.
