A 17-year-old Colorado high school student was tackled off his bicycle, handcuffed and questioned by Boulder police after officers mistook him for a bank robbery suspect, while attorneys for the teenager say tracking data showed the actual robber had apparently taken a bus across town and was sitting near or inside a Starbucks at the time.
Civil rights attorney John Bryan, host of The Civil Rights Lawyer, reviewed the bodycam footage with Colorado attorney Dan Williams, who represents Galileo “Leo” Wise in a lawsuit against Boulder Police Officer Austin Meyers and Sgt. Steven Faber.
Williams argues that Wise did not match the bank robber’s description, was moving when the tracker tied to the stolen money was stationary, and complied when police confronted him, yet was still pulled from his bike and taken to the ground.
A Bank Robbery And A Tracker In The Cash
Williams said the case began June 5, 2025, when a U.S. Bank branch in Boulder was robbed at about 2:33 p.m.
According to the attorney, roughly $2,200 was taken, and bank employees had placed a hidden tracking device with the stolen cash, allowing officers to receive updated information about where the suspect was moving.
Police also had a description and photograph from the bank.
Williams said radio traffic described the robber as having tan skin and wearing a lime-green shirt with clear glasses.
At roughly the same time, Wise was riding his bicycle toward a scheduled haircut. He was wearing teal pants, a tan or grayish sweatshirt and a black bicycle helmet.
Williams said his legal team later compared the tracker’s movement with local transportation routes and concluded that it closely followed a bus route from the bank toward the area where police eventually converged.
The tracker then remained stationary for about two minutes at the location of a Starbucks near College Avenue, he said.
From Williams’ perspective, that should have pushed officers toward the stationary coffee shop rather than toward a teenager actively moving through a nearby bicycle tunnel.
An Officer Sees Someone “Greenish”
Bodycam and radio audio reviewed by Bryan shows officers trying to determine whether the robber might be traveling on a bicycle.
At one point, an officer reported seeing “a bike with someone greenish” moving in the area.
Officer Meyers soon believed he had spotted the suspect and directed officers toward Wise as the teenager rode through the underpass near Broadway and College Avenue.
Williams said that connection was far too thin.
Wise was not wearing the robber’s lime-green shirt, did not have clear glasses and did not otherwise resemble the person shown in the bank photograph, according to the attorney.
More importantly, Williams said, the tracker connected to the stolen money had been sitting still while Wise continued moving.
The attorney argued that police had a legitimate reason to aggressively search for a bank robber, but not to treat anyone vaguely associated with the color green as the suspect.
That distinction matters because emergency circumstances can justify quick decisions, but they do not erase the need to compare the person in front of officers with the information they actually possess.
Wise Stops, Then Gets Taken To The Ground
The footage shows officers running toward Wise and shouting for him to stop.
Williams said the teenager was initially startled but quickly realized the commands were directed at him, slowed the bicycle, put his hands on the brake levers and came to a stop.
Meyers then pulled him from the bicycle and forced him to the ground as other officers joined in.
Wise repeatedly asked what was happening and what he had done.
Police handcuffed him, and officers cut the straps of his backpack to remove it.
Williams said Wise’s head struck the ground during the takedown and that the teenager remained detained for roughly eight minutes as more officers arrived.
Bryan and Williams both questioned why such force was necessary when Wise had stopped and his hands were visible on the bicycle controls.
Williams argued that even if officers reasonably wanted to investigate him, they could have ordered him to raise his hands and questioned him rather than immediately tackling him.
Officers Quickly Realized He Was Not The Robber
Bodycam footage later shows officers comparing Wise with the bank suspect’s photograph.
Sgt. Faber can be heard saying, “That’s not him.”
Other officers also remarked that the photograph did not look like Wise.
Despite that realization, Williams said the detention continued while officers questioned the teenager, checked his student identification and read him his Miranda rights.
Wise explained that he had been riding toward a haircut appointment and planned to lock his bicycle near campus before walking the rest of the way.
He was 17 years old.
Williams said the most serious problem came after officers knew they had the wrong person.
Rather than simply acknowledging the mistake, he argues, Meyers gave Wise an inaccurate explanation for why he had been stopped.
According to the bodycam, Meyers told the teenager the robber had been wearing tan and green clothing, had been moving at a speed consistent with a bicycle and had been tracked to essentially Wise’s exact location.
Williams disputes all three points.
He said there was no information establishing that the robber was riding a bicycle, the suspect’s actual description was a green shirt and clear glasses rather than a mixture of tan and green clothing, and the tracker had been stationary at the Starbucks rather than following Wise through the tunnel.
Teen Calls His Parents After Complaining Of Head Pain
Wise eventually told officers that his head hurt badly after the takedown.
Paramedics were called, and he told them he had a history of concussions and previous head and neck injuries.
During a phone call with his mother captured on bodycam, Wise described the situation in plain terms: he said he had been falsely identified as a bank robber, tackled from his bicycle and handcuffed.
Meyers later spoke with both of Wise’s parents and again explained that their son’s clothing, bicycle and location had matched what police were looking for.
Wise’s father challenged that explanation and asked why police would tackle his son in an area where many people ride bicycles.
The teenager’s parents were understandably upset, and the footage shows officers trying to arrange medical care, transportation and even a replacement backpack after Meyers cut Wise’s straps.
Meyers eventually apologized directly to Wise and offered to buy him another backpack.
But Williams said the apology did not resolve the larger issue because officers had already given Wise and his family explanations that he believes were false.
Actual Suspect Was Approached Far More Cautiously
Police later located a man who much more closely resembled the bank surveillance image.
The bodycam footage shows officers approaching that man calmly, asking his name, explaining that they were investigating a robbery and requesting permission before conducting a weapons pat-down.
Williams highlighted the contrast.
The actual suspect was questioned before being physically restrained, while Wise had been tackled almost immediately despite looking substantially different from the person police were seeking.
Officers later obtained confirmation from someone associated with the bank before arresting the actual suspect, according to the discussion between Bryan and Williams.
The attorneys argued that this demonstrated how the encounter with Wise could have been handled from the beginning: slow the situation down, compare the person with the photograph and ask questions before resorting to force.
Internal Review And A Lawsuit Followed
Wise’s father later filed a complaint with the Boulder Police Department.
Williams said the department’s internal review found that Faber should have released Wise sooner once reasonable suspicion had disappeared, while Meyers was cleared over the initial takedown.
The City of Boulder declined to comment on the pending litigation, according to information discussed in the video.
Williams has now filed suit on Wise’s behalf in Colorado state court against Meyers and Faber, alleging wrongful arrest and excessive force.
The lawsuit claims Wise suffered a concussion, continued physical and emotional effects, anxiety and trauma after the incident, and alleges that the experience became so damaging that he was unable to complete his senior year normally.
Those claims remain allegations in pending civil litigation and have not been established by a final court ruling.
For Bryan and Williams, however, the most troubling part of the case is not simply that officers initially made a mistake during a fast-moving search.
Both attorneys focused instead on what happened after police saw the bank photograph and knew Wise was not their suspect.
Williams described it as a policing culture that too often defaults to justifying a bad decision rather than admitting it, while Bryan said mistaken-identity cases become much harder to defend when officers double down after the mistake becomes obvious.
Meanwhile, the sequence reconstructed by Williams makes the contrast difficult to miss: the actual bank robber apparently traveled across Boulder by bus and stopped near a Starbucks, while a teenager trying to make his haircut appointment became the person police chased, tackled and handcuffed instead.
Gary’s love for adventure and preparedness stems from his background as a former Army medic. Having served in remote locations around the world, he knows the importance of being ready for any situation, whether in the wilderness or urban environments. Gary’s practical medical expertise blends with his passion for outdoor survival, making him an expert in both emergency medical care and rugged, off-the-grid living. He writes to equip readers with the skills needed to stay safe and resilient in any scenario.
