A federal judge has denied a request from the Pueblo County sheriff to dismiss a civil rights lawsuit against him and two of his deputies, stemming from a November 2019 traffic stop in which the officers allegedly slammed a woman into the ground and falsely claimed she was speeding.

Britney Nicole Kennedy sued Sheriff Kirk M. Taylor and deputies Steven Chavez and Ely Dynes, claiming the deputies violated her legal rights by detaining her without reasonable suspicion and then using excessive force against her. Lawyers for Taylor and the deputies argued that the body-worn camera footage contradicted Kennedy’s allegations of being “violently” shoved into her car and the ground.

But U.S. District Court Judge William J. Martínez rejected the defendants’ motion to dismiss after watching the footage.

“The Court has reviewed the video evidence and determined that it does not ‘clearly contradict’ these allegations,” Martínez wrote in a Dec. 21 order. He also found the allegations sufficient to let the claim against the sheriff proceed for Taylor’s purported failure to properly train and supervise the deputies. 

Colorado Politics was unable to obtain the body-worn camera footage of the traffic stop for review. Taylor is currently a candidate for U.S. Marshal, after Colorado’s two senators recommended him and two other law enforcement professionals to the Biden administration earlier this year.

According to her complaint, Kennedy was driving out of her apartment complex along Spaulding Avenue on Nov. 21, 2019. Once on the main road, Chavez reportedly pulled over Kennedy, approached her vehicle and told her she was going above the speed limit in the parking lot. Kennedy denied it.

“In any event, as Deputy Chavez knew or should have known, Deputy Chavez lacked the legal authority to enforce the speed limit on private property or initiate a traffic stop based on suspicion of speeding on private property,” the lawsuit argued.

Chavez reportedly drew and pointed his pistol at Kennedy while she was searching for her documentation. Chavez claimed that he saw a gun in the car, which Kennedy later asserted to be a toy.

In response to the brandishing, Kennedy raised her voice, prompting Chavez to “aggressively” order her out of the car. Kennedy did so while continuing to criticize Chavez. It was then that Chavez and Dynes reportedly shoved her against the car, then headfirst into the ground. Kennedy allegedly sustained injuries to her arms, scalp, ribs and head, and suffered long-term health consequences.

Kennedy received citations for speeding and careless driving. Court records show the district attorney’s office dismissed both charges in late 2020. Her claims in the civil lawsuit included allegations that Chavez and Dynes falsified a narrative to justify charging her.

In asking Martínez to dismiss the case, the defendants portrayed their actions as reasonable given Kennedy’s hostility toward the deputies during the traffic stop.

“Plaintiff immediately became verbally combative and initially refused to exit her vehicle. Only after Deputy Dynes agreed to say ‘please’ did Plaintiff get out of her vehicle,” lawyers for the deputies wrote. “Due to her disorderly behavior on the side of a busy highway, the deputies decided to detain Plaintiff for questioning. Plaintiff actively resisted against being handcuffed, and attempted to head butt and kick the deputies.”

Martínez, after reviewing the parties’ arguments, found no basis for the defendants’ claim that Chavez saw Kennedy speeding on a public road prior to pulling her over. In particular, the judge pointed out the defendants’ concession that even if Chavez had exceeded his authority under state law, he had not violated Kennedy’s constitutional rights.

“This is a new argument that strays far from the argument Defendants made in their Motion, which was completely based on the assertion that Defendant Chavez had observed Plaintiff committing traffic violations on public roads,” Martínez wrote.  

The judge determined that Kennedy had plausibly claimed the Pueblo County defendants violated her constitutional rights.

The case is Kennedy v. Taylor et al.