Man who filmed beating sues officer involved

A Colorado Springs man is alleging in a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city that a decorated policeman roughed him up after he filmed officers beat up another man last year.

Marc Johnson claims he "suffered contusions and cuts to his face and back" in the October 2008 incident and that he "continues to suffer from the injuries."

Johnson is seeking unspecified monetary damages in the lawsuit, which also names Officer Peter Tomitsch as a defendant.

Tomitsch was awarded the Police Department's Medal of Valor for arresting an armed robber who was trying to escape in a car with three children inside.

According to the lawsuit, filed in April, Johnson and his wife were buying a vehicle at a car dealership in the 1200 block of North Academy Boulevard on Oct. 8, 2008, when they heard a disturbance nearby.

When Johnson went to see what was happening, he saw two officers holding someone down, the lawsuit states.

"One officer was hitting the individual in the face, and the other officer started kicking him in the face," documents state. "The individual was also tased by the officers."

Johnson started to film the incident and made the officers aware by shouting, "I believe you are kicking that guy in the face with your boot," the lawsuit states.

While he was still filming, one of the officers approached Johnson and told him to leave, it states. When he refused and told the officers "that he intended to continue filming what he believed to be police brutality," Tomitsch approached him "as he attempted to retreat," documents state.

Johnson claims that Tomitsch attacked him and wrestled him to the ground.

"Officer Tomitsch struck (Johnson) in the face before attempting to handcuff him," documents state.

Johnson's Englewood-based attorney, Kevin Flesch, said he would "love" to share the video but added that Johnson still hadn't authorized him to do so.

"It shows him walking up on these (officers) kicking this guy and then the officer coming after him," he said.

Lt. David Whitlock, a police spokesman, declined to comment on the incident because of the pending litigation. He also declined a request for a police report on the incident.

"We're not going to release it today. I can tell you that for sure," said Whitlock, who asked a reporter to file an open-records request. Agencies can take up to three days to respond to such a request.

Tomitsch did not return a message left on his voice mail at work.