Denver's
City Council on Monday will consider paying $40,000 to settle a lawsuit brought
by a bystander who was injured by bullet fragments shot by a Denver police
officer outside a nightclub on July 2, 2010.
Diamond
Demmer sued the City and County of Denver in federal court after the shooting,
alleging negligence, battery, assault and other claims.
The
settlement comes a few days after Denver's Civil Service Commission upheld the
firing of Denver officer Robert Fitzgibbons, who fired the bullets that hurt
Demmer.
Fitzgibbons
was fired last year after an internal investigation found the officer had
unauthorized military tracer bullets in his .223-caliber Smith & Wesson
rifle when he fired at an armed suspect.
The
investigation found police were justified in their use of force, but that
Fitzgibbons had used unauthorized ammo.
Bullet
fragments from two of the rounds hit Demmer in the legs and torso. She had been
a bystander and was not involved in any altercation.
She
was transported to Denver Health Medical Center and underwent exploratory
surgery.
Multiple
bullet fragments remain lodged in her body and legs. The lawsuit says Demmer's
body is "peppered with unpleasant and unattractive scars, and she has been
emotionally scarred for life."
On
the night of the shooting, Fitzgibbons and partner Cpl. John Schledwitz were
responding to multiple reports of fights breaking out near East 11th Avenue and
Broadway outside Club Vinyl.
The
officers reportedly opened fire on Sori Shead, who allegedly was firing shots
in the air to scare off a potential assailant.
Reports
say Schledwitz and Fitzgibbons both fired their weapons.
Fitzgibbons'
use of a .223-caliber Smith & Wesson rifle also was not authorized under
Police Department policies.