A Denver car thief is suing a former deputy with the Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office, claiming that the deputy assaulted him and caused blindness with a taser in a parking garage at the Ameristar Casino in Blackhawk, Colorado.
Christopher Bustos has filed a lawsuit in Denver County District Court against former Gilpin County sheriff’s deputy Filip Perry. Bustos alleges that an arrest incident left him blind in one eye after being shot with a taser on March 19, 2023. Perry has since been terminated in June 2023 for using excessive force during another arrest in the same location.
Bustos is currently serving a 10-year sentence in the Colorado Department of Corrections for aggravated motor vehicle theft following his arrest by Perry. According to court documents, Bustos was inside a stolen vehicle at the Ameristar Casino with an unidentified passenger when Perry approached the car. Perry, who was aware the vehicle had been reported stolen, ordered Bustos out of the car at gunpoint.
The lawsuit claims that Perry, while pointing his gun at Bustos’s head, repeatedly shouted at him to “shut the f*ck up,” actions that violated official procedures of the Sheriff’s Office. Perry then reholstered his gun and, without warning, used a taser on Bustos, hitting him in the left eye. The lawsuit details that Bustos did not physically resist Perry, nor was any firearm found in the vehicle or in the possession of Bustos or his passenger.
As a result of the incident, Bustos has permanently lost vision in his left eye and is awaiting surgery to replace the eye with a prosthetic. The lawsuit asserts that Perry’s actions violated Bustos’s constitutional rights against unreasonable searches and seizures. It seeks compensation for medical expenses, loss of income, legal fees, pain and suffering, and mental and emotional distress.
Perry was later charged with official misconduct regarding a separate incident in July, where he allegedly slammed an arrestee into a wall. During the investigation, internal affairs uncovered text messages from Perry boasting about the incident with Bustos. In one message, Perry wrote, “Even if I had no bills, I’d do [the job] for free. I’m a big, tough lawman.”
