police
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Federal judge allows excessive force claim to proceed against Westminster officers
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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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Judge sanctions woman suing Colorado Springs police, finds she withheld evidence
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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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Loveland officer who shot puppy will face jury trial, federal judge rules
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A jury will decide whether a Loveland police officer violated a couple’s constitutional rights when he shot their puppy in the head and torso, after a federal judge decided against granting immunity last week. Officer Mathew Grashorn had pulled up in an empty parking lot on a weekend to find Wendy Love and Jay Hamm…
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Federal judge sends unlawful arrest, excessive force claims against Denver officers to jury
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A jury will decide whether two Denver police officers are liable for unlawful arrest, excessive force and malicious prosecution after a federal judge last month found it possible the defendants arrested a man for an assault that never happened. Aaron Hernandez was sitting in a vehicle with his son in a church parking lot when…
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Durango officials immune from suit despite questions about probable cause, 10th Circuit rules
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The federal appeals court based in Denver acknowledged on Monday that there were “valid questions” about whether Durango police had probable cause to arrest a man, but ultimately awarded immunity to the officers and prosecutors for their unsuccessful criminal case against the suspect. Christopher Joe Clark alleged law enforcement should not have arrested him for…
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Federal judge sends illegal arrest lawsuit against Colorado Springs officers to trial
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A jury will decide whether Colorado Springs police officers unlawfully arrested and searched a woman who, moments prior, helped resuscitate a man who had stopped breathing from a drug overdose. Colorado Springs asked U.S. District Court Senior Judge Christine M. Arguello to find its officers acted reasonably when they handcuffed and cited Sasha Cronick for…
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Colorado appeals court, 2-1, rules defendant not entitled to arresting officer’s discipline file
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In a divided ruling, Colorado’s second-highest court found a man convicted of assaulting an Arapahoe County sheriff’s deputy was not entitled to a review of the victim’s personnel records and potential history of excessive force. Marcos Casillas did not dispute that he was guilty of resisting arrest and obstructing a peace officer, nor that he…
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10th Circuit upholds Colorado Springs police’s gun search after second look at case
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Two years after ruling that Colorado Springs police used an unconstitutional search warrant to recover illegally owned guns from a man’s property, the federal appeals court based in Denver has conceded the officers nonetheless acted in good faith. The decision means the key evidence of a crime – the guns themselves – did not need to be…
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Federal judge declines to label Colorado Springs appeal ‘frivolous’ in lawsuit over police killing
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Although she previously found a jury should decide whether Colorado Springs police officers and the city itself are liable for killing a man with a Taser, a federal judge has declined to forge ahead with a trial while the defendants appeal her ruling. In March, U.S. District Court Senior Judge Christine M. Arguello determined a…
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Federal judge says Westminster officers not liable for using Taser on man in home in front of family
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Westminster police officers who hit and tased an intoxicated man in his home while his child and wife screamed for them to stop cannot be held liable for excessive force, a federal judge ruled last month. Although Jose Sariñana Gandara’s wife originally called 911 to inquire about transporting Sariñana to a detox facility, multiple officers who…