Two Denver district judge court judges put two civil lawsuits filed against the Denver police officer accused of injuring seven people in a downtown shooting last year on pause pending the outcome of criminal charges.

Officer Brandon Ramos faces a slew of criminal charges arising out of the early morning July 17, 2022 shooting in Lower Downtown after bars had closed. Ramos and two other officers were trying to detain a convicted felon who was carrying a gun.

That morning, police officers responded to a report of a fight involving one man, who was later identified as Jordan Waddy. When officers arrived, Waddy pulled out a gun and, according to initial statements by the police department and video, waved it at them. Three officers began to shoot at Waddy, injuring him and six bystanders behind him.

Five victims filed civil lawsuits against Ramos in March and April respectively: Bailey Alexander, Mark Bess, Yekalo Weldehiwet, Willis Small IV and Angelica Rey. The lawsuits, which claim Ramos acted recklessly, seek unspecified damages for medical bills, lost work time and emotional distress.

But Denver District Court Judge Stephanie Scoville, who has Rey’s case, ruled Ramos shouldn’t have to waive his Firth Amendment rights against self incrimination to fight the civil lawsuits before the criminal proceedings have run their course.

He’s set to appear in court Sept. 8 for an arraignment, where he’s scheduled to enter a plea to the charges and a trail date could be set.

Denver District Judge J. Eric Elliff, who has the case of the other four plaintiffs, agreed with Scoville that Ramos’ rights as a criminal defendant outweigh any harm that might be caused to victims due to a delay in the civil cases.

“The noncriminal proceeding, if not deferred, might undermine the party’s Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination,” Scoville wrote in her June 17 ruling, adding it would also expand rights of criminal discovery beyond the limits of federal rules, as well as “expose the bases of the defense to the prosecution in advance of criminal trial, or otherwise prejudice the case.”

The rulings mean the cases will be paused until after Ramos’ criminal case has ended.

Only Ramos was charged criminally over the July 17 shooting after Denver District Attorney Beth McCann sent the case to a grand jury. It returned indictments, alleging 14 criminal offenses against Ramos in January after finding the officer was not in immediate danger when Waddy began to pull out his gun, and he knew the officers directly in front of Waddy were armed.

In the criminal case, Ramos faces two counts of reckless second-degree assault, three counts of third-degree knowing or reckless assault, three counts of third-degree assault with negligence using a deadly weapon, one count of prohibited use of a weapon and five counts of reckless endangerment.

In the civil case, the plaintiffs claim Ramos acted recklessly, “willfully and wantonly,” when he fired at Waddy with the crowd of bystanders behind the suspect in the line of fire, and, as a result, they suffered from economic damages related to medical care and lost wages, as well as “pain, suffering, emotional distress and loss of quality of life.”

The court gave six factors to determine whether a stay is necessary for a civil case. These factors included whether the criminal and civil case overlap, the status of the criminal case, the private interest of the plaintiffs and defendant, and the interest of the public and court.

Both parties acknowledged that there is “undoubtedly” an overlap of issues of facts in both the criminal and civil case. Both the criminal case and the civil cases involve the same question — whether Ramos acted recklessly.

“The issues presented here for Officer Ramos are identical in both the civil and criminal proceedings,” the stay order said.

The court also noted that the criminal case, which was filed earlier this year, will take some period of time to resolve.

The trial has yet to be scheduled and Ramos has yet to enter a plea, weighing in favor of postponing the civil cases, Ramos’ attorney Peter Doherty argued.

Attorneys who represent the plaintiffs argued that indefinite stay would “prejudice plaintiffs far more severely than the purported prejudice to defendant from proceeding in this action.”

“Plaintiffs were shot by a peace officer, continue to suffer from lifechanging injuries, and now face the possibility of being denied the right even to begin pursuing civil remedies until an unknown later date,” attorney Ciara Anderson said.

The plaintiffs urged the judge to take depositions but keep them under seal “and direct that it not be used for any purpose outside the civil proceeding except for perjury or impeachment.”

Staying the cases, they argued, is an “extraordinary remedy.”

The defense, meanwhile, countered that “most of the pleadings” and related documents are under seal with limited access to those involved in the criminal case, potentially lowering the defendant’s strength in the civil case.

Waddy entered a not guilty plea to charges of possession of a weapon by a previous offender. He’s due back in court Aug. 16 for a motions hearing.

Denver Gazette City Editor Dennis Huspeni contributed to this story.