excessive force
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Federal judge grants immunity to Westminster officer for shooting mentally ill man
A federal judge on Thursday concluded a Westminster police officer cannot be held liable for shooting and killing a man in an apparent mental health crisis. Birendra Thakuri’s mother filed suit against Officer Steven Bare and the city one year after her son’s death in August 2018, alleging Bare used excessive force or, alternatively, created…
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Federal judge grants immunity to Westminster officer for shooting mentally ill man
A federal judge on Thursday concluded a Westminster police officer cannot be held liable for shooting and killing a man in an apparent mental health crisis. Birendra Thakuri’s mother filed suit against Officer Steven Bare and the city one year after her son’s death in August 2018, alleging Bare used excessive force or, alternatively, created…
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Federal judge green-lights jury trial for Denver police response to 2020 protests
A federal judge decided earlier this month that a jury will evaluate whether the City and County of Denver and one Aurora police officer violated the constitutional rights of 13 plaintiffs who were injured during the police response to protests in downtown Denver in May 2020. In a pair of March 1 orders, U.S. District…
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Federal judge green-lights jury trial for Denver police response to 2020 protests
A federal judge decided earlier this month that a jury will evaluate whether the City and County of Denver and one Aurora police officer violated the constitutional rights of 13 plaintiffs who were injured during the police response to protests in downtown Denver in May 2020. In a pair of March 1 orders, U.S. District…
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Federal judge weighs immunity for Westminster officer who shot, killed man in mental crisis
A federal judge on Friday heard arguments over whether a Westminster police officer may be held liable for shooting and killing a 27-year-old man experiencing a mental health crisis after lesser forms of restraint did not defuse the encounter. Although Birendra Thakuri’s mother filed suit against Officer Steven Bare and the city one year after her…
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Federal judge allows excessive force claim to proceed against Westminster officers
A federal judge on Tuesday permitted an excessive force claim to proceed against Westminster police officers who allegedly knocked a man unconscious and continued to beat him after he posed no threat. However, U.S. District Court Judge S. Kato Crews based his ruling on the allegations in Jonathan David Smith’s complaint, which did not include…
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Federal judge, again, declines to dismiss lawsuit against Pueblo deputies in man’s killing
For the second time, a federal judge last week refused to dismiss the excessive force claims against a Pueblo County sheriff’s deputy who shot and killed a man outside a middle school after the man accidently tried to get into a car he mistook for his own. Kristy Ward Stamp, mother of the late Richard Ward,…
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Federal judge tosses excessive force case against Adams County deputies
Even though a man re-injured his shoulder after Adams County deputies placed him in handcuffs, a federal judge last month decided no constitutional violation took place during the “lawful, normal arrest.” During a late-night domestic dispute with his wife in June 2021, Gabriel Armijo destroyed his home garden and drove into a fence. Other people…
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Judge sanctions woman suing Colorado Springs police, finds she withheld evidence
A federal judge last week authorized financial sanctions against a woman and her lawyers who are suing Colorado Springs police for a constitutional violation, finding she disobeyed court orders and failed to hand over evidence to the defense. Sasha Cronick is pursuing claims of unreasonable search and seizure and false arrest against the officers who…
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10th Circuit gives immunity to Colorado Springs officers for tasing man 8 times prior to death
The federal appeals court based in Denver agreed on Monday that two Colorado Springs police officers cannot be held liable for using a Taser on a man up to eight times in 90 seconds, leading to his death. Officers Daniel Patterson and Joshua Archer were investigating a possible disturbance at an apartment building when Jeffrey…