Colorado Springs police beat elderly Alzheimer's patient who was 'breaking in' to a house he owned

Colorado Springs police may soon be facing legal action by the family of a man with Alzheimer's who they say beat him bloody, KKTV reports.

Albert Schmeiler, 72, was punched, kicked and thrown to the ground, Margot Alvarez, his mother-in-law, told the station. Schmeiler was knocked unconscious in the July incident.

According to the Colorado Springs Independent, officers were told that Schmeiler could be violent. But when they arrived, they found him calmly standing in the driveway with Alvarez. Despite this, the Independent reports police punched him in the face, kicked him and knocked him down after taking a running start at him.

Police were called on reports that Schmeiler was breaking into a home. Schmeiler owns the home, but rents it to his sister-in-law.

Police reports say Schmeiler was getting agitated and taking swings at them, but Alvarez said she informed them when she arrived at the home, at the same time as police, that he had Alzheimer's and was prone to confusion.

The minute [the CSPD officers] got out of the car, I told them he has Alzheimer’s, he's confused, he's hallucinating, he's 72 years old," she told the station.

After the officers knocked him to the ground, Alvarez said she ran up to see if he was alright.

"And Albert was unconscious. I ran down and said 'Albert, are you OK?' and his wife pulled up," she told KKTV.

Schmeiler spent three weeks in the hospital as a result of the incident, and was charged with three criminal counts, according to the Independent.

Family members told KKTV that since being knocked unconscious, Schmeiler's dementia and Alzheimer's have worsened.

The lawsuit seeks more than $100,000 in damages.

Watch the report, as posted by KKTV, here: