civil rights
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Federal judge refuses to dismiss excessive force lawsuit against Aurora officer
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A federal judge on Tuesday refused to dismiss an excessive force claim against an Aurora police officer for shooting a gun-wielding man, even though the man was not pointing his weapon at anyone and had only two seconds to react to the officer’s commands. U.S. District Court Senior Judge William J. Martínez agreed Officer Joseph…
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Federal judge allows UCCS employee to sue over alleged hostile work environment
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An employee of the University of Colorado Colorado Springs will be able to pursue her civil rights claims against the institution after a federal judge on Tuesday found Whitney Porter credibly alleged that she experienced a gender-based hostile work environment and retaliation. U.S. Magistrate Judge Maritza Dominguez Braswell agreed Porter had described a pervasive amount…
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Federal judge in Colorado Springs deploys new tool for self-represented plaintiffs
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The lone federal judge stationed in Colorado Springs has quietly adopted a new tool to make it easier for people representing themselves in court to understand what is happening with their case. U.S. Magistrate Judge Maritza Dominguez Braswell, who joined the bench last summer, is now adding plain English summaries at the beginning of her…
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Judge sides with CU in cancer researcher’s discrimination lawsuit
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A federal judge agreed with the University of Colorado that a longtime cancer researcher failed to show he was subjected to a hostile work environment based on his race, religion or national origin, or was otherwise threatened with termination. Priya N. Werahera, an associate professor focused on prostate cancer research at the University of Colorado’s…
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Henry Allen Jr., former Colorado NAACP president and civil rights advocate, has died
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Henry Allen Jr., a former president of the Colorado Springs chapter of the NAACP and civil rights advocate, died Thursday after a long illness. He was 67. A 24-year veteran of the U.S. Army, Allen dedicated the latter decades of his life to public service in the Pikes Peak region. After retiring from the armed…
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Judge sides with Denver Public Schools on lawsuit alleging retaliation
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A federal judge has sided with Denver Public Schools in a civil rights lawsuit, finding no evidence school leaders were aware of an employee’s alleged opposition to discrimination when they fired her for inappropriate behavior. Barbara Lindsay, a former administrator at Emily Griffith Technical College, alleged then-executive director Stephanie Donner terminated her employment in July…
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Federal judge sends DPS discrimination lawsuit to jury
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A jury will now decide whether a former Denver Public Schools leader discriminated against a Black administrator by passing her over for a position in favor of a politically-connected and allegedly less-experienced white applicant. Tisha Lee, the vice president of student services at Emily Griffith Technical College, described in her lawsuit how a panel of…
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Allegations of racist comment, retaliation against Colorado sheriff tossed
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An American Indian man formerly employed with the Logan County Sheriff’s Office has not plausibly shown he was the victim of discrimination and retaliation, a federal judge has ruled, even though the defendants did not deny the elected sheriff had repeatedly made racist comments to employees. Shadowhawk A. Tiger, who worked as a detention deputy…
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Judge dismisses assault-related lawsuit against Adams County jail officials
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A detainee in the Adams County jail has not plausibly claimed officials violated his constitutional rights by failing to investigate and protect him from a series of alleged sexual assaults while he was sleepwalking, a federal judge has decided. Joseph Anthony Cruz reportedly discovered circumstantial evidence of being sexually assaulted while he was asleep and…
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Federal judge rejects immunity for Colorado Springs officers in suit over man’s death
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According to Colorado Springs, its officers acted reasonably during the hot pursuit of a felon. They applied minimal force to the resisting suspect and immediately changed course when they realized he might have stopped breathing. Lawyers for the now-deceased man, however, alleged the police had “preyed on” his mental disability, tasing him while he was…
