For An Aurora Woman, A Police Settlement Didn’t Make The Pain Go Away
The money—all $100,000 of it—didn’t last long.
For Vanessa Peoples, a payout after she’d been roughed up by Aurora police officers brought some relief to her family. It paid bills, allowed for a rare out-of-town vacation, provided college tuition and gave Peoples the ability to buy a car.
“I’m not upset I don’t have the money left because I did accomplish a lot. I had it and things needed to be done.” Peoples said. “I didn’t have to see my mom struggle anymore. For me to take care of my kids and pay my medical bills meant a lot.”
But four years later, Peoples continues to struggle with what happened on the afternoon of July 13, 2017, at her home in Aurora when an officer threw her on the floor, straddled her body and then tied her hands and legs behind her back as she screamed in pain.
Read the full story in The Denver Post.
Nervous to recount her traumatic experience once again, this time on national television, Vanessa Peoples begins to cry as she braids her hair to get ready for an interview with NBC News. “When that happened, it just felt like someone put a gun to my head,” she said. Photo by Eli Imadali
Brothers Mahjae, 6, and Tamaj Hike, then 7, play in their front yard in Aurora, the same house in which their mother was brutalized by police. Photo by Eli Imadali
Vanessa Peoples rocks her son Zamari Hike, 5 months old at the time, to sleep. Zamari was born five days after the murder of George Floyd. “He was a fighter…He’s my gift, my little miracle baby.” Photo by Eli Imadali
TOP LEFT: Mahjae Hike, 6, holds onto his mother Vanessa Peoples after getting into a scuffle with his brother on Jan. 23, 2021. Mahjae has been particularly attached to his mother since her 2017 arrest by Aurora police at the family’s home. TOP RIGHT: Old photographs decorate the Peoples home in Aurora on Oct. 16, 2020. Vanessa Peoples, pictured center left at age 10, still struggles to cope with the trauma and memories of the day she was brutalized by Aurora police in 2017. BOTTOM: Vanessa Peoples has a virtual appointment with her doctor as her son, Tamaj Hike, has an outburst during virtual school. Photos by Eli Imadali
Mahjae Hike, left, plays with his father, Tevin Hike, as Tamaj Hike and mother Vanessa Peoples relax on the porch. Photo by Eli Imadali
Vanessa Peoples walks into the Aurora Police Department Headquarters to start the process of sealing her record. Photo by Eli Imadali
Vanessa Peoples smokes a joint in the hallway in her family home, where in 2017 she was injured by Aurora police. For Vanessa, marijuana, which she only uses when her kids aren’t around, is one of the few things that relieves her stress, depression and anxiety. She says walking through that hallway every day forces her to think about the worst day of her life. Photo by Eli Imadali
TOP: Tevin Hike and his son, Mahjae Hike, 6, scream and laugh while sledding down a hill in Aurora as Vanessa Peoples watches, smiling on March 15, 2021. Enjoying family time is what matters most to Vanessa, so moments like these are healing for her and the family. BOTTOM LEFT: Vanessa Peoples adjusts her 2021 college graduation tassel in her car she purchased with money from the settlement paid to her by the City of Aurora. BOTTOM RIGHT: Vanessa Peoples and Tevin Hike dance together at a party they threw for their son Zamari’s first birthday and Vanessa’s college graduation at their Aurora home on May 30, 2021. “Nobody can take my joy right now,” she said a couple days before the party. Photos by Eli Imadali
Vanessa Peoples kisses her son, Mahjae Hike, 6, goodbye for the day as she drops him off at school one morning. Earlier that week, Mahjae came home early from school because an Aurora police officer was at his school to speak at an assembly. Vanessa offered for Mahjae to stay home from school the next day, but he said that he wanted to be strong for his mom. Photo by Eli Imadali
Tamaj Hike, then 7 at left, his grandmother Patricia Russell and his mother Vanessa Peoples dance in the hot tub after Vanessa completed her interview with NBC News. “It’s finally done now. My nerves is calm… It was emotional. You’re just letting the world know you’re still hurting… It was a big relief to let everyone know.” Photo by Eli Imadali
Eli Imadali is a documentary photographer and photojournalist based in Denver, Colorado.
Co-published with The Denver Post.
