LAFAYETTE, Colo. — A Lafayette police officer is accused of “aggressively tailgating” and assaulting a woman in a parking lot before he identified himself to her as the police, according to a recently filed lawsuit.
“There are few things more unnerving than a stranger tailgating you on the road,” the beginning of the lawsuit reads. “There is truly nothing more terrifying than that stranger following you into a parking lot, getting out of his car, storming up to you, and physically assaulting you. That was Ms. Martell’s terrifying reality on November 20, 2024.”
On Dec. 18, Kosloski Law, on behalf of Jazzminn Martell, filed a civil lawsuit alleging that Lafayette Police Officer Nathan Cashion had assaulted Martell in a parking lot on the morning of Nov. 20 as the 34-year-old made her way to work, driving south on Colorado Boulevard.
“Jazzminn stated that she passed Nathan on Colorado Blvd but was unsure of her speeds or if there was a double yellow line,” according to a Thornton police report provided to Denver7 by Attorney Jason Kosloski. Cashion later reported that Martell had passed him on a double yellow line and he said he believed that she was driving about 80 mph, according to a police report. Her actual speed has not been publicized.
Denver 7+ Colorado News Latest Headlines | December 21, 9am
Cashion then “aggressively tailgated” her, causing her to speed up out of fear and put distance between herself and the stranger, the lawsuit reads. Cashion was not in a marked police vehicle or in uniform, and never turned on emergency lights. He continued to tailgate her, the lawsuit alleges. According to a police report, he said he wanted to get her license plate and make a report, but never contacted police.
Martell turned into a parking lot in Thornton to avoid the defendant, “terrified that if she continued to drive to her job, Defendant would follow her there. She didn’t know why she was being aggressively tailgated by a strange man and felt deeply unsafe,” the suit reads. According to a police report, the parking lot was at the corner of Colorado Boulevard and E. 136th Avenue.
Cashion followed, and when she stopped her car, he did too.
She got out of her car to tell him to stop following her. The lawsuit says Martell was not armed or threatening toward the defendant, and did not approach him before the “large, physically fit, trained male police officer” walked “aggressively” toward the “significantly smaller woman,” who tried to get back into her car but the defendant reached her first.
“Officer Cashion allegedly responded by grabbing her arm, twisting it behind her back, and forcefully slamming her face-first into her car — without any lawful justification,” a press release about the lawsuit reads.
Martell yelled for help, and Cashion responded that he was a police officer — the first time he had mentioned this, as he was not in uniform — and she was being detained, the lawsuit reads. A police report reads that Martell reported he said he “was an off-duty cop.”
When witnesses began to gather, Cashion let her go.
Background: Lafayette Police Department | Document: Kosloski Law, PLLC
Trying to get away, Martell ran to the other side of her car and Cashion entered her car through the driver’s door, despite not having a warrant to search her car, the lawsuit reads. He found her keys in the car and seized them.
Other police then responded to the scene and took reports from both Cashion and Martell.
As of the time of the lawsuit filing, Cashion remained a certified peace officer with the Lafayette Police Department. In the police report, when he was asked “why he would detain someone not in his jurisdiction for a traffic violation,” “he replied that when she got out of her car his training kicked in. Nathan could not offer any other explanation for his action.” According to a police report, Cashion said he has three years of experience with the Lafayette Police Department and was not carrying any firearms at the time.
He said Martell was speeding, which the lawsuit argues was not true.
The suit called him an “out-of-control police officer,” and alleges multiple claims, including violation of Martell’s rights under the Colorado Constitution, false imprisonment, assault, and battery.
“Officer Cashion’s assault left me physically injured and emotionally devastated,” Martell said in a press release about the lawsuit. “It’s difficult to put into words what it feels like to have your personal space violated like this. This assault has affected nearly every part of my life — from my work to my personal relationships. I want to send a clear message that being a police officer — on or off duty — does not give anyone the right to intimidate, harm, or violate another person’s rights.”
Attorney Kosloski said this was not policing, but rather “harassment and needless violence by someone who happened to be a police officer.”
“Ms. Martell was simply trying to go to work and ended up being attacked by someone who swore an oath to protect her,” he continued. “That’s not OK, and it can’t go unchecked. We’re here to hold him accountable and to try and make sure he’s not able to hurt anyone else.”
Denver7 reached out to Lafayette Police Department on Saturday morning for comment. They responded that Cashion is on administrative leave due to the criminal investigation.
The full lawsuit is available to read below or here.
