Man Claims Boulder Deputies Beat Him
Malveaux Believes Treatment Was Racially Motivated

POSTED: 2:48 p.m. MDT August 23, 2005
UPDATED: 8:50 p.m. MDT August 23, 2005


Story by thedenverchannel.com

-- A big, brawny former football player is claiming that officers used excessive force during a traffic stop when they allegedly punched him, kicked him and shocked him with a Taser gun.

David Malveaux, 24, was one of five passengers in a car that was stopped early Saturday morning while officers were investigating a burglary case.

The driver and another passenger were arrested for investigation of burglary after stolen property was recovered from the vehicle. Malveaux was also taken into custody because he was being uncooperative, Boulder Sheriff's Lt. Phil West said.


"Mr. Malveaux did not cooperate with deputies' instructions to exit the car, was verbally abusive and physically resisted them. Deputies were forced to deploy a conductive energy device (Taser) in order to gain control of Mr. Malveaux. He was taken into custody and lodged at the Boulder County Jail on the misdemeanor obstruction charge," West said.

Malveaux, who is a 6 feet 6 inches tall, 250-pound black man, told the Daily Camera that this was "the worst I've been beaten. It seemed like something racial to me." Seemed like a burglary and possession of stolen property thing to me...

He told the newspaper that he was dragged out of the car and beaten and that the beatings left him with a sprained knee, a black eye, and scratches and bruises on his chest, behind his ear and inside his mouth.

Malveaux filed a complaint of excessive use of force, and the Boulder County Sheriff's Office's internal affairs investigator is looking into the accusation. The internal investigation is expected to take up to four or five weeks to complete.


The incident began when Boulder police received a call about a woman stealing two iPods from a party at the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity house. A sheriff's deputy spotted car that matched the car police were looking for so he called for backup. Six sheriff's deputies and two Lafayette police officers responded.

The officers pointed their guns at the car as it pulled into Malveaux's driveway at 75th Street near Valmont Road. Malveaux said he asked why they were stopped and he was forced out of the car and beaten while his friends in the car did not receive the same treatment.

Malveaux said he drank at the party and has had brushes with the law in the past, but has always been respectful of officers. According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, he has been arrested for assault, harassment, shoplifting, disorderly conduct and various traffic offenses.

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conductive energy device

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