A cyclist is suing Salt Lake City and one of its police officers, accusing the officer of tackling him off of his bicycle during the popular “999 Ride” in May, causing injuries.
In the lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Utah, Kimball Brooks, 29, says he was participating in the ride with a group of friends on May 1, when they stopped at a red light at 200 South and Main Street in downtown Salt Lake City.
At the intersection at 10:21 p.m. that night, Brooks alleges in the lawsuit, the officer, Mark Moran, confronted Brooks and his group of cyclists. Moran told the group to get off their bikes, but Brooks — who was stopped in a shared lane used by cyclists and cars — said he didn’t think the officer was talking to him, so he kept riding, the lawsuit says.
According to the lawsuit, Moran ran after Brooks, and knocked him off his bike without warning with a “blindside tackle.”
With no chance to brace for impact, the lawsuit states Brooks — who said he was already recovering from a recent knee injury — hit the concrete curb with both knees, and his head struck a pillar. The impact injured Brooks’ knees, according to the lawsuit, and left a gash on his right temple.
The lawsuit says Moran told the group he was going to cite the group for “violating some traffic laws” before Brooks took off. The officer told Brooks he was going to jail “for fleeing, failure to yield to traffic signals and using a bicycle without a head lamp or rear reflector,” according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit also says Moran didn’t tell Brooks at which traffic signal he failed to yield.
The court filing includes photo images from the ride, which the lawsuit says were taken from footage from Moran’s body-worn camera.
The Salt Lake City Police Department did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment.
Brooks was not criminally charged, according to the lawsuit, but was instead taken by ambulance to University of Utah Hospital — where he was treated for torn ACLs and meniscus tears in both knees. The lawsuit says Brooks, who works as a security system installation technician, lost income while he was treated for his injuries.
Brooks’ attorneys declined to say what his current condition is, as he recovers from his injuries.
In the lawsuit, Brooks is asking for declaratory judgement that his rights were violated, as well as financial compensation for what happened.
The 999 Ride is a weekly late-night bicycle ride community members take through the streets of Salt Lake City. It was started over a decade ago to urge people to get on their bikes. It gets its name from the time, 9 p.m., and location, 900 East and 900 South, where participating cyclists usually gather to start.
Over the years, some drivers have reported frustration that some cyclists disregard traffic rules. Brooks’ lawsuit alleges Salt Lake City police have been encouraged to “crack down” on the activity.
In 2024, police officials told The Salt Lake Tribune that officers were making their presence known on the ride’s route, to tamp down on illegal activity, such as littering and noise complaints. However, a police spokesperson said at the time, “it’s not an enforcement crackdown. This is not a get tough approach.”