civil rights
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Henry Allen Jr., former Colorado NAACP president and civil rights advocate, has died
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
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
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
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
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
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…
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10th Circuit rules against Arvada religious school in employment discrimination appeal
The federal appeals court based in Denver has rejected an Arvada church’s argument that religious institutions are entitled to immunity from being sued for certain instances of employment-related retaliation. In a first-of-its-kind ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, a panel of judges decided, 2-1, that it had no ability to…
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Lawsuit seeks to move Colorado Springs elections from April to November; alleges city violated Voting Rights Act
Several local organizations filed a lawsuit against the city of Colorado Springs this week, alleging it has violated the federal Voting Rights Act. The Citizens Project, Colorado Latinos Vote, the League of Women Voters of the Pikes Peak Region and the Black Latino Leadership Coalition filed the civil lawsuit asking the city to move its municipal…
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Federal judge tosses man’s excessive force lawsuit against Loveland police
A federal judge has dismissed a man’s lawsuit against the city of Loveland and multiple police officers that alleged excessive force and unlawful arrest. Although Christopher Talmadge claimed that he was nonviolent and “minding his own business” when police reportedly slammed his head into his driveway, the city pointed to an affidavit the night of…