It’s safe to say that MMA fighter Donovan Duran (0-1-0) doesn’t mind fighting somebody inside of a cage to earn money. His next battle, however, will be inside of a courtroom, where he will be fighting for what is likely the biggest purse of his life.
Lawyers representing the fighter filed a lawsuit on June 13th against the City of La Junta after a December altercation with La Junta Police left Duran paralyzed from the chest down, ending his MMA career and changing his life forever.
The entire incident was caught by body cameras worn by La Junta Police, who were attempting to remove Duran from a squad car in order to escort him into Arkansas Valley Medical Center.
Officers allegedly tackled the intoxicated Duran to the ground while in handcuffs, damaging the fighter’s C6 and C7 vertebrae and ultimately crushing his spinal cord according to KRDO-TV.
A grand jury opted not to indict the officers involved in Duran’s arrest and subsequent paralysis, though they did note that Sergeant Vincent Fraker was responsible for Duran’s injuries.
Mike McDivitt, Duran’s lawyer, commented on the jury’s decision via a blog post on his firm’s website mcdivittlaw.com.
McDivitt expressed that the grand jury hearing in this case—as in every case—is by law secret and ex parte. That is, only one party participates and presents evidence. Neither Donovan nor his attorneys were able to be present to hear testimony of witnesses. Those unnamed witnesses could not be cross-examined by us, nor could we present evidence on Donovan’s behalf. Likewise, our attorneys were not allowed access to any documents, reports, or videos presented to the grand jury as evidence, nor were we permitted to present such type of evidence on behalf of Donovan.
An internal investigation into the December scuffle is still being completed, according to Bill Jackson, who oversees La Junta’s public safety department. There is no word yet on how much Duran’s lawsuit against the City of La Junta is for.
Check out the video below for the original body cam footage of La Junta Police paralyzing Donovan Duran.
Ray Higginbotham is a professional writer and an avid fan of MMA. For more content like this, check out his Facebook page or follow him on Twitter @_MMARAY.
