The family of a teenage boy allegedly beaten by a Denver police officer wants the city to settle out of court for $1.3 million.
The offer was made in a letter sent by the lawyer for 16-year-old Juan Vasquez to Mayor John Hickenlooper this week. In the letter, lawyer Douglas Romero says the family will sue if the city doesn't agree to the settlement.
Forty-year-old officer Charles Porter, who worked with the gang unit, has been charged with felony assault.
Vasquez's family and police say the teen suffered a lacerated liver, broken ribs and kidney injuries in the alleged attack.
According to the suit, the alleged attack happened after Vasquez ran from officers who suspected he was drinking alcohol.
The suit claims that one officer threatened to shoot Vasquez in the back when he ran away and then threw a flashlight at him so hard that is shattered when it struck him.