qualified immunity
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10th Circuit says judge erred in denying immunity to Denver officers who arrested man for recording
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The Colorado-based federal appeals court sided with two Denver police officers on Tuesday, finding they were entitled to immunity outright or to a second look at their arguments in a lawsuit over a man’s arrest for video recording at a police station. There was no dispute that a sign was posted on the window of…
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10th Circuit rules Denver deputy will face trial for punching man in wheelchair
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The Colorado-based federal appeals court agreed on Friday that a Denver sheriff’s deputy will face a civil jury trial for using “arbitrary and punitive force” against a restrained man who spat on him. Video footage from 2019 captured Deputy Jason Gentempo punching and shoving Serafin Finn, who was in a wheelchair, to the ground after Finn…
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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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‘Common sense’: 10th Circuit rules Loveland officer will face civil trial for shooting puppy in head
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The Denver-based federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that a jury will decide whether a Loveland police officer violated a couple’s constitutional rights by shooting their puppy in the head and torso. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit had never decided the specific question of whether the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable…
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Federal judge grants immunity to Colorado Springs paramedic, officer for man’s death
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A federal judge has concluded that a Colorado Springs paramedic and police officer could not be held liable for their roles in restraining a man in mental health crisis, leading to his death. U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney determined Sean Reed and Nick Fischer were entitled to qualified immunity, which is a judicial…
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10th Circuit says Lakewood sergeant has immunity for fatally shooting man in burning basement
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The Denver-based federal appeals court agreed on Thursday that a Lakewood police sergeant did not violate a man’s constitutional rights by shooting and killing him while trying to evacuate him from a burning basement. Jason Waterhouse was behaving erratically when he barricaded himself in the basement of his sister’s home, then started a fire while…
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Appeals court rules Denver ordinance’s constitutionality has no bearing on lawfulness of arrest
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Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday that regardless of whether a plaintiff could later show Denver’s ordinance was unconstitutional, arresting officers were acting with probable cause at the time and could not be held liable. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals pointed to a 1979 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court that indicated…
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Colorado Springs officers to face civil trial for luring man out of home, chasing him inside prior to death
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A federal judge ruled last week that a jury will decide whether four Colorado Springs police officers violated a man’s constitutional rights by chasing him inside his home without a warrant and restraining him as he lay on the floor dying. Chad Alexander Burnett was mentally ill and allegedly behaving menacingly toward his neighbors. When…
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10th Circuit grants immunity to Elbert County sergeant for shooting unarmed man
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The federal appeals court based in Denver ruled on Thursday that an Elbert County sheriff’s employee cannot be held liable for shooting an unarmed man who startled him. Joel Hernandez sued Sgt. Mike Skalisky for excessive force for shooting him at the Kiowa Industrial Park in March 2021. In response, Skalisky invoked qualified immunity, which…