$30,000 Colorado Personal Injury Settlement to Shoplifting Suspect Gives New Meaning to "Snap Into a Slim Jim"
A suspected shoplifter who was pinned beneath a Denver patrol car and suffered severe personal injuries during a June 2003 incident has been awarded $30,000 from the city. After allegedly stealing beef jerky from a convenience store nearly four years ago, Leonard Trujillo was chased by a police officer and accidentally run over twice by a patrol car during the pursuit. Trujillo sued the city in district court for his injuries, and the Denver City Council agreed to the $30,000 personal injury settlement earlier this week.
A Rocky Mountain News story detailed the strange circumstances surrounding this case. After Trujillo allegedly stole the beef jerky, the convenience store owner locked the doors to the store to prevent him from escaping. Trujillo then kicked through the glass doors to escape, and a concerned citizen quickly notified police officer Gary Hise, who was sitting nearby in his patrol car. Hise began driving and noticed a man matching the suspect’s description. He then shined his lights on the suspect, which turned out to be Trujillo.
After being stopped, Trujillo claimed that he puts his hands up in the air to surrender. However, when the police car continued toward him and jumped the curb four or five feet from where he was standing, Trujillo said he began to flee towards a driveway out of fear. Hise followed Trujillo but stopped when he noticed that the suspect had encountered some “aggressive dogs.” After Trujillo got away from the dogs and ran back past the patrol car, Hise claimed that he lost sight of the suspect.
Hise then backed up his car and hit Trujillo in the small of his back. According to court documents detailed in the story, Hise did not realize that he hit Trujillo but did sense “an instability, like a flat tire, under his right rear tire.” Thinking that he had encountered a rough patch of gravel, Hise continued to back up his patrol car into the street. When he noticed the same instability in the street, he stopped his car and found Trujillo pinned beneath the rear. Trujillo remained under the car until a tow truck arrived.
Hise said in an interview with the newspaper that Trujillo’s injuries were an accident. He also added that he talked with the city’s attorneys and accepted their advice that the $30,000 personal injury settlement was the best way to resolve the situation.