The Colorado Springs man who was shocked with a Taser by a police officer in 2022 during a foot pursuit and left paralyzed filed a state lawsuit in the 4th Judicial District after the dismissal of his federal lawsuit. 

The case started May 16, 2022, when Colorado Springs police officers working in a multi-agency auto theft task force used a vehicle tracker to find Jacob Root, 31, driving a stolen car to a Kum & Go gas station on Airport Road, according to police records. When the officers approached Root, he fled.

After a brief chase, Comstock shot Root in the back with a Taser, causing him to fall face-first into the street. Injuries from the fall left Root paralyzed, according to previous Gazette coverage.

Civil rights attorneys Harry Daniels and Tyler A. Jolly filed a $100 million federal lawsuit in May 2024, claiming Officer Robert Comstock violated CSPD’s use-of-force policy when he shocked Root. 

$100 million lawsuit claims CSPD officer violated policy, paralyzed suspect

Magistrate Judge Timothy P O’Hara dismissed the case “without prejudice,” on March 5, according to court records. In response, Root’s attorneys filed an appeal U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th U.S. Circuit of Appeals on March 28.

“Let’s be clear. This wasn’t any kind of victory for the CSPD. The court didn’t say Officer Comstock was right, they didn’t say CSPD was immune, and they certainly didn’t say that Jacob Root deserved to be paralyzed,” Daniels stated in a Friday news release.

“The court said that this is a question for the state court. So, while we appeal that decision, we filed this state lawsuit.”

Court records show the state lawsuit was filed on March 26. It lays out similar claims to the federal lawsuit, alleging Comstock did not give proper warning before shocking Root in the back and his actions were “malicious.” In addition, the lawsuit claims Comstock violated department policy by deploying a Taser while Root was on an elevated surface and more at risk for injury.

When the federal lawsuit was filed last year, the department said in a statement that, “after review through the deputy chief, Officer Comstock was exonerated from any policy violation or wrongdoing. The department posted additional bodycam footage and the internal investigation alongside the May 2024 statement. 

The internal report notes Comstock repeatedly ordered Root to stop, albeit threatening the use of a K-9 unit and not the Taser, according to previous Gazette coverage. 

The Police Department said it had no further comment on the matter Friday, citing the initial public statement.

According to the Peace Officer Standards and Training website, Comstock remains employed by the department and is in good standing. The state lawsuit is seeking “injunctive relief” against Comstock, prohibiting him from maintaining POST certification.

The complaint filed in the state lawsuit did not detail a specific monetary amount the plaintiffs are requesting, but rather a “sum that will fairly and adequately compensate Plaintiff for his damages and for such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.”

Daniels has been involved in other lawsuits against Colorado Springs police, notably the 2022 beating of Dalvin Gadson as well as the strangulation of 63-year-old Kevin Dizmang.

Gadson’s lawsuit resulted in a $2.1 million settlement in May 2024. However, a federal judge ruled the Colorado Springs paramedic and police officer could not be held liable for Dizmang’s death in March.