george floyd
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10th Circuit hears Denver, officer’s request to overturn $14M jury verdict after 2020 protests
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Members of the Colorado-based federal appeals court considered on Wednesday whether a judge committed errors in the 2022 civil trial where jurors found Denver liable for $14 million for violating the constitutional rights of protesters. In the first lawsuit of many to culminate in a jury trial, 12 plaintiffs largely succeeded in arguing Denver’s own…
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Federal judge declines to dismiss excessive force claim against Denver
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A federal judge last week declined to dismiss Denver from an excessive force lawsuit, finding the plaintiff had sufficiently alleged the city’s lack of training was behind an officer’s decision to slam him head-first into the ground. Elijah Smith alleged he was among the crowd of people in Lower Downtown celebrating the Denver Nuggets’ NBA…
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Lakewood must release police body cam footage of teen’s fatal shooting, appeals court rules
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Colorado’s second-highest court ruled last week that Lakewood is obligated to release body-worn camera footage of police fatally shooting a 17-year-old girl, notwithstanding her surviving family’s objections. A three-judge Court of Appeals panel interpreted a key transparency requirement in Colorado’s landmark police accountability law from 2020. Judge Timothy J. Schutz wrote that legislators crafted “a…
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Federal judge sends claims of 13 plaintiffs to trial over police response to 2020 demonstrations
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A federal judge last week agreed 13 people injured in the police response to 2020 demonstrations in Denver will have their claims of constitutional violations decided by jury trial. Numerous judges in the past five years have found Denver or its officers may be held liable for excessive force or First Amendment violations in a series…
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10th Circuit rules ex-Denver police chief entitled to immunity for 2020 protest injury
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Denver’s former police chief cannot be held liable for a woman’s injury during a 2020 protest because his directives for officers to use force were “in the abstract and from a distance,” the Colorado-based federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday. The lawsuit from Suzy Dennis was one of several filed in federal court following the police…
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Appeals court overturns $4 million jury award for elderly woman subject to Denver SWAT search
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Colorado’s second-highest court last week overturned a jury’s roughly $4 million award to an elderly Denver woman who was subject to a SWAT raid on her home after police believed, incorrectly, a stolen iPhone would be found inside. In ordering a new civil trial, a three-judge Court of Appeals panel imposed a new burden on…
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Appeals court emphasizes claims against officers must be ‘frivolous’ for unsuccessful plaintiffs to pay
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Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday that a 2020 police accountability law only contemplates that unsuccessful plaintiffs will compensate officer defendants for their costs when the claims are frivolous. Lawmakers enacted Senate Bill 217 in the wake of protests that erupted over the May 2020 death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. Although federal…
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Federal judge dismisses National Guard member’s First Amendment lawsuit
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A federal judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit from a member of the Colorado National Guard who alleged leadership unconstitutionally punished him for derogatory remarks made on a podcast. In a March 14 order, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Philip A. Brimmer expressed some confusion about how plaintiff David Morrill was alleging his First Amendment…
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Federal judge eases path for plaintiffs to hold Denver liable for 2020 protest response
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A federal judge last month reversed course on her previous decision and ruled a group of one dozen plaintiffs who were injured during the police response to Denver protests can hold the city liable for failing to train its officers on the use of chemical weapons and projectiles. Last March, U.S. District Court Judge Nina Y.…
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3 federal judges trim claims brought by 2020 protesters in Denver
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A trio of federal judges in recent weeks cut back the number of claims that could proceed to trial in lawsuits stemming from police use of force during the protests in downtown Denver four years ago. Numerous judges this year have found Denver or its officers may be held liable for excessive force or First Amendment…
