Tag: Excessive Force
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10th Circuit says Lakewood sergeant has immunity for fatally shooting man in burning basement
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save The Denver-based federal appeals court agreed on Thursday that a Lakewood police sergeant did not violate a man’s constitutional rights by shooting and killing him while trying to evacuate him from a burning basement. Jason Waterhouse was behaving erratically when he barricaded himself in the…
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Denver police sergeant to face civil trial over alleged First Amendment retaliation, judge rules
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save A federal judge ruled last month that a jury will evaluate whether a Denver police officer violated a man’s First Amendment rights by knocking his cell phone onto the ground in retaliation for video recording. Brian Loma was recording the city’s operation to dismantle a…
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Federal judge allows man to sue Aurora officer for alleged accidental discharge of gun
A federal judge last week declined to dismiss a man’s excessive force claim against an Aurora police officer, who fired his gun in what the city alleged to be an accidental discharge. This spring, Arapahoe County jurors found Eugene Robertson guilty of numerous attempted murder charges. However, while he was incarcerated pending trial, Robertson filed suit against…
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10th Circuit upholds immunity for Lafayette officers who used dog to bite unarmed man
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Lafayette police officers who deployed a dog to bite an unarmed, allegedly unconscious man for 15-20 seconds cannot be held liable for excessive force, the federal appeals court based in Denver ruled last week. Adrian Martinez was lying in the fetal position in a locked…
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Federal lawsuit filed against former Aurora cop charged with beating disabled woman
A former Aurora police officer charged criminally in connection with the assault of an at-risk adult in January now faces a federal civil lawsuit claiming he used excessive force against the disabled woman. Wyoma Martinez filed the lawsuit Thursday against Douglas Harroun and the city of Aurora for an incident she said started because he…
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$2.4 million jury verdict against Denver for officer’s shooting of unarmed man, upheld by 10th Circuit
The federal appeals court based in Colorado has upheld a jury’s verdict that found a Denver officer responsible for excessive force by opening fire on an unarmed man, and the city itself liable for failing to adequately train him. Sgt. Robert Motyka Jr. seriously injured Michael Valdez following a January 2013 vehicle chase in which…
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Man to receive $350,000 settlement for beating by Denver police during protest
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Denver will pay $350,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by a man who said he was tackled, punched and beaten in the genitals by Denver police officers unprovoked at a protest over the city’s clearing of a homeless encampment in July 2020. City Council Monday…
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Colorado officer who shot fleeing suspect may be held liable for excessive force, judge says
A jury will now decide whether a Rifle police officer and the city itself are liable for shooting a fleeing suicidal man, as a federal judge on Monday refused to grant immunity for the 2019 killing of Allan George. Lawyers for Corporal Dewey Ryan and the city argued George posed a threat to others as…
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Judge refuses to toss lawsuit against Pueblo for ‘reckless’ cop’s killing of motorist
A federal judge has refused to dismiss the legal claims against the city of Pueblo for failing to train or discipline an allegedly “reckless” officer who shot two vehicle occupants, killing the driver. U.S. District Court Senior Judge Christine M. Arguello ruled last week that Sarah Naranjo, the injured passenger, and Marie Adorno, the mother…
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Colorado officers who killed, wounded vehicle occupants in car chase granted immunity
A late-night vehicle pursuit through Littleton, Englewood and Denver that left a driver partially paralyzed and a passenger dead has now culminated in a federal judge’s decision to grant immunity to the police officers involved. There was no caselaw, Rodriguez concluded, labeling the officers’ use of force unconstitutional “in the context of a car chase…