qualified immunity
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10th Circuit upholds immunity for Lafayette officers who used dog to bite unarmed man
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Lafayette police officers who deployed a dog to bite an unarmed, allegedly unconscious man for 15-20 seconds cannot be held liable for excessive force, the federal appeals court based in Denver ruled last week. Adrian Martinez was lying in the fetal position in a locked storage closet when police broke the door and immediately told…
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Greeley officer postpones request for immunity in illegal detention suit after judge expresses doubts
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The lawyer for a Greeley police officer backed down from his plans to ask for qualified immunity on Thursday, after a federal judge suggested the request to end the illegal detention lawsuit was premature. Officer Kody Brunnemer faces allegations that he violated the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches and seizures when he detained, then…
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Judge refuses to dismiss lawsuit from acquitted man against Denver officers
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A federal judge on Wednesday decided a man acquitted of murder by a Denver jury may sue the officers involved in the investigation for violating his rights, after they allegedly concealed information and failed to perform an adequate investigation. Although Micah Kimball claimed five law enforcement officers infringed on his Fourth Amendment right to be…
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Federal judge green-lights jail suicide lawsuit against Saguache County for trial
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A jury will decide whether Saguache County Sheriff Dan Warwick, one of his deputies and the board of county commissioners are liable for the 2019 suicide death of Jackson Maes in the jurisdiction’s jail. In a Feb. 3 order, U.S. District Court Judge Nina Y. Wang dismissed a number of constitutional rights claims against the…
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10th Circuit ponders immunity for Colorado Springs officer in hospital room tasing
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Some members of the federal appeals court based in Denver appeared skeptical on Tuesday that a Colorado Springs police officer committed a constitutional violation when he tased a man for refusing to hand over a cell phone that contained suspected evidence of child abuse. Last year, a trial judge allowed Carl Andersen Jr. to take…
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Judge grants immunity to Jeffco deputy in jail attack lawsuit
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A Jefferson County sheriff’s deputy cannot be held liable for failing to prevent an aggressive inmate from attacking another man in the county jail, a federal judge decided last month. U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak acknowledged certain circumstances in which a prisoner can sue officials for not taking steps to stop inmate-on-inmate violence. However,…
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10th Circuit awards immunity to Fort Collins cop who slammed college student into ground
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The federal appeals court based in Denver has determined a Fort Collins officer who slammed a college student face-first into the ground cannot be held liable for excessive force. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit acknowledged Officer Randall Klamser did violate the constitutional rights of Michaella Lynn Surat…
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No immunity for Loveland cop who shot puppy
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A Loveland police officer may be held liable for shooting a couple’s puppy in the head within seconds of exiting his car, a federal judge has ruled. Last week, U.S. District Court Judge Raymond P. Moore refused to dismiss the civil rights claims against Officer Mathew Grashorn for the shooting. Moore noted the law is…
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Judge grants immunity to officers who killed, wounded vehicle occupants in car chase
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A late-night vehicle pursuit through Littleton, Englewood and Denver that left a driver partially paralyzed and a passenger dead has now culminated in a federal judge’s decision to grant immunity to the police officers involved. There was no caselaw, Rodriguez concluded, labeling the officers’ use of force unconstitutional “in the context of a car chase…
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Federal judge rejects immunity for Colorado Springs officers in suit over man’s death
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According to Colorado Springs, its officers acted reasonably during the hot pursuit of a felon. They applied minimal force to the resisting suspect and immediately changed course when they realized he might have stopped breathing. Lawyers for the now-deceased man, however, alleged the police had “preyed on” his mental disability, tasing him while he was…