Jury awards $1 million to Denver homeless man beaten, dragged from lobby of luxury apartments

A Denver jury last week awarded more than $1 million to a homeless man who was beaten and dragged from the lobby of a downtown apartment complex almost three years ago.

Jurors in the civil case found that the security guard and two concierges who dragged Early Jackson out of The Quincy Apartments at 1776 Curtis St. were liable for economic, physical and punitive damages, according to a verdict form.

Jackson walked into the luxury apartment building’s lobby on Jan. 28, 2022 — a cold night — and asked to sit by the fireplace in the lobby for a few minutes to warm up. The two concierges on duty at first said he could do so, and Jackson took a seat, according to the lawsuit he later filed against the apartment complex’s management company, the concierges, and the companies that employed the concierges and security guard.

Jackson moved to Colorado in 2021 from North Carolina and worked full-time, but he couldn’t afford to live in the city and instead slept in a homeless shelter at night. He sent money home to his family.

After letting Jackson sit in the lobby, the concierges summoned a security guard for the apartment complex and said they wanted Jackson to leave. The security guard talked to Jackson and told him to get out of the building.

As they were speaking, one of the concierges, Kendall Robinson, pulled a gun from a backpack at the front desk and put it in his jacket. He and the second concierge, Greg Landrum, then confronted Jackson.

Robinson pointed the gun at Jackson’s head, the lawsuit alleges. Then the two concierges pulled Jackson back, tipping over the chair he was sitting in. They then assaulted him in an area of the lobby that was not covered by security cameras and dragged him out of the building, the lawsuit alleges.

Jackson’s sweatshirt was pulled off in the attack. The employees tossed it on top of him after dragging Jackson onto the sidewalk.

Jackson lay on the sidewalk in front of the building with severe injuries, drifting in and out of consciousness for about 20 minutes. Robinson at one point walked outside and kicked Jackson again, the lawsuit alleges.

Jackson eventually started screaming in pain, and the security guard called an ambulance. Jackson received trauma care at the hospital and needed to undergo emergency back surgery, according to the lawsuit.

Jurors largely found fault with the concierges and their company, but also found Jackson’s negligence in following up on medical care contributed to his injuries and found him liable for a small portion of damages, according to the verdict form.

Jackson’s attorney, Siddartha Rathod, with law firm Rathod Mohamedbhai, noted Wednesday that there are many barriers to medical care for people who are homeless, and applauded the jury’s overall verdict.

“The jury sent a message with this verdict that no one in our community deserves to be treated the way Mr. Jackson was treated,” he said. “That regardless of your social economic status, we all deserve to be treated with basic human dignity.”

Attorneys for Landrum, Robinson and the apartment complex’s management company did not immediately return requests for comment Wednesday. The concierges were not criminally charged in connection with the incident.

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