A former Gilpin County sheriff’s deputy is under attack for assaulting and permanently blinding a Denver man in one eye during an arrest last year, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday.

Christopher Bustos is suing former Gilpin County Sheriff’s Deputy Filip Perry in Denver County District Court for using force and violating Bustos’ constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure, the suit says.

On March 19, 2023, Perry approached a car that had been reported stolen after another officer noticed it parked in the parking garage of the Ameristar Casino in Blackhawk. Bustos and an unidentified passenger were in the car after visiting the casino.

Perry ordered Bustos out of the car, repeatedly pointed his gun at the unarmed man — at one point holding it directly behind Bustos’ head “execution-style” — and shot Bustos in the left eye, he alleges the process.

The deputy at the time did not check and never addressed the car’s passenger, according to the lawsuit.

During the incident, Perry repeatedly told Bustos to “shut the hell up” and had the gun pointed at Bustos the entire time, the lawsuit says. Both actions are in direct violation of Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office policies and procedures.

“At no time did Bustos strike or hit Perry. At no time did Bustos kick Perry,” the lawsuit states. “At no time did Bustos hold or display a firearm. At no time did Perry or any other law enforcement officer find or discover a firearm in the vehicle, in Bustos’ possession, or in the passenger’s possession.”

Even after Perry cocked his gun and grabbed the Taser, he never warned Bustos or announced he was going to use it, the lawsuit states, citing body camera footage.

Bustos is now permanently blind in one eye and is awaiting surgery to remove his left eye and replace it with a prosthetic, according to the lawsuit.

The Denver man pleaded guilty in August 2024 to aggravated motor vehicle theft as part of a plea deal, court records show. He is serving a 10-year sentence in the Department of Corrections.

Perry was fired after a similar fight in June 2023 in which he fought a man after ordering him out of his car in the same Ameristar Casino parking garage, according to the lawsuit. Perry knocked the man to the ground and into the side of his car, the lawsuit states.

However, the lawsuit alleges Perry was never reprimanded or disciplined for his similar attack on Bustos months earlier. He also claims the deputy never filed the correct “use of force” paperwork after the incident.

During the internal affairs investigation into the June incident, Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office investigators found text messages from Perry talking about Bustos being blinded, according to the lawsuit.

“Perry bragged about blinding people (i.e. Bustos) and that he was, quote, ‘a big bad lawman’ who liked to flaunt his authority in such an excessive and violent manner that he ‘would do (the job) for free.’ “, the lawsuit states.