A jury Wednesday awarded Robert Duran $40,000, saying that ex-Denver Sheriff’s deputy Stephen Koehler violated his civil rights when he beat him at the jail in 2009.

Denver, which was not named in the suit, will also face several hundred thousand dollars in attorney’s fees for Duran’s lawyers, said David Lane, whose office handled the case for Duran.

City Attorney Douglas Friednash couldn’t be reached for comment.

On Monday, Friednash had said though the city paid for Koehler’s defense, it would be premature to discuss whether it would pay the damages for Koehler if Duran won the case. “No decision on that issue has been made,” he said.

During the trial in U.S. District Court in Denver, the five women and four men of the jury saw video of Koehler grabbing Duran’s throat and rushing him across a room, where his head crashes into a cell. Once Duran is cuffed and in the cell, Koehler can be seen raising his leg and bringing his foot down on what Lane said was Duran’s head.

Deputy Safety Manager Mary Malatesta fired Koehler in early 2010 for a series of alleged assaults on Duran. The dismissal notice said Koehler was careless in performance of his duties, failed to follow rules and lied to supervisors or falsified documents.

Statute requires Denver to indemnify police defendants if they are acting within the scope of their duty. Since the city fired Koehler for his actions, Denver is not really responsible, but “the real politics of this is the union will go crazy if the city doesn’t indemnify,” Lane said.

Frank Gale, president of the Colorado State Fraternal Order of Police, which represents the Sheriff’s deputies, couldn’t be reached for comment.

“It is not our case,” said Nick Rogers, head of the Police Protective Association, which represents Denver police officers. “But the city needs to uphold their responsibilities and (paying damages) is their responsibility. That is an extremely chicken– – way to run a city.”

It is doubtful that Koehler can afford to pay damages, Lane said, and “when you prevail, the losing defendant has to pay attorneys fees so we will be submitting our bill” to Denver.

If the city chooses not to indemnify Koehler it could send a message to officers that if they use excessive force and are sued they could be responsible for damages, Lane said.

That message could result in fewer cases of police brutality, he said.

“If the city coughs up, that is fine, but the city may choose to litigate all of this. I either get paid by the city or the city won’t pay me and let the word go out to every cop in Denver that if the city isn’t going to pay me your house may be on the line if I sue you for beating somebody and I win.”

Koehler’s lawyer, Brian Reynolds, told jurors that Duran refused to follow orders and was only hurt when he resisted being moved to another cell.

“In a jail setting, compliance is not optional,” Reynolds said.

Duran had been arrested for assault after getting into a scuffle with another man and was being processed into the pre-arraignment detention facility at 13th Avenue and Cherokee Street.

“We achieved justice,” said Lane. “Through this case a jury saw what happened and said the Denver Sheriff’s Department through this officer violated the Constitution of the United States of America. All my client was asking for was justice.”

Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671, tmcghee@denverpost.com or twitter.com/dpmcghee