elijah mcclain
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Colorado Supreme Court heads toward summer recess, newest justice authors first opinion | COURT CRAWL
Welcome to Court Crawl, Colorado Politics’ roundup of news from the third branch of government. The state Supreme Court is in the process of releasing a large batch of opinions as it heads toward its summer recess in July, plus the newest justice authored her first opinion for the court. Colorado Supreme Court news • The…
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Federal judge allows Aurora protest leader to sue city, detective over prosecution
A federal judge last week declined to dismiss a malicious prosecution lawsuit against the city of Aurora and one of its detectives, brought by a 2020 protest leader who alleged there was no probable cause to arrest her. Eliza Lucero was involved in a protest outside an Aurora Police Department station in July 2020. She…
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Appeals court reinstates man’s lawsuit challenging $600 open records fee
Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday directed a trial judge to evaluate whether the state’s health department responded reasonably by imposing a $600 fee on a man’s request for records about the administration of ketamine by paramedics. At the same time, a three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals took umbrage at the inflammatory language Frank…
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Colorado House bill seeks to limit police use of ‘prone restraint’ technique
A bill introduced in the Colorado House seeks to include “prone” restraint in the state’s legal definition of excessive physical force. If passed, it would require officers who employ the technique to promptly transition the individual to a “recovery position” to facilitate normal breathing. Critics of the technique say it should be abolished due to…
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Colorado House bill seeks to limit police use of ‘prone restraint’ technique
A bill introduced in the Colorado House seeks to include “prone” restraint in the state’s legal definition of excessive physical force. If passed, it would require officers who employ the technique to promptly transition the individual to a “recovery position” to facilitate normal breathing. Critics of the technique say it should be abolished due to…
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Colorado House bill seeks to limit police use of ‘prone restraint’ technique
A bill introduced in the Colorado House seeks to include “prone” restraint in the state’s legal definition of excessive physical force. If passed, it would require officers who employ the technique to promptly transition the individual to a “recovery position” to facilitate normal breathing. Critics of the technique say it should be abolished due to…
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Boulder’s interim chief on police reform, Elijah McClain and JonBenet Ramsey
Stephen Redfearn has been on the scene of some of Colorado’s most high-profile tragedies — Columbine, the Aurora theater shooting, the death of Elijah McClain, and the December 2021 Marshall Fire. “It seemed like if it was going to happen, I was working,” he said in an interview from his second-floor Boulder office Tuesday. As president…
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Appeals court finds no racial discrimination by El Paso County prosecutor
Colorado’s second-highest court concluded last month that an El Paso County prosecutor did not engage in racial discrimination by dismissing two jurors of color from a criminal trial, based on their concerns over aggressive policing. Under longstanding U.S. Supreme Court precedent, intentional race-based discrimination in jury selection is unconstitutional. If a prosecutor tries to remove…
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Aurora firefighters union may seek entry into consent decree lawsuit, appeals court rules
The union representing Aurora’s firefighters could be allowed to join the litigation between the city and the state that resulted in a consent decree addressing unlawful police and paramedic behavior, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled last week. The agreement to reform the city’s policies came after Attorney General Phil Weiser released a report in 2021 documenting…
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Aurora city manager Jim Twombly to retire
Aurora City Manager Jim Twombly announced Friday he will retire this spring, winding down what other city leaders called a tenure marked by steady leadership during tumultuous times. Twombly will leave his post – after a 42-year career in public service in multiple states – on April 7. He has served in the role since 2018,…