seizure
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Douglas County police, DEA find record-breaking amount of fentanyl in storage unit
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A Douglas County man got more than he bargained for when purchasing an abandoned storage unit last week — nearly 2 million fentanyl pills. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, along with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Rocky Mountain Field Division (RMFD) and Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI), seized a record-breaking amount of fake fentanyl pills…
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Colorado Supreme Court accepts cases on police interrogation, mid-trial appeal
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The Colorado Supreme Court recently announced it will determine whether a convicted defendant should receive a new trial after detectives interrogated him without probable cause and while executing a narrow order to obtain his DNA. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to take up a case on appeal. The justices also…
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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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Following 10th Circuit reversal, federal judge agrees man may sue Douglas County child caseworker
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After the Denver-based federal appeals court found she improperly dismissed the lawsuit, a federal judge last week agreed that a father’s claims may proceed against a Douglas County child welfare worker who allegedly violated his constitutional rights while investigating suspected child abuse. Originally, U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney dismissed the due process and…
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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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Federal judge green-lights trial over arrest of protester at Denver mayor’s 2019 inauguration
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A federal judge indicated on Monday that it is a jury’s role to decide whether Denver police officers violated a woman’s rights by arresting her for disrupting the inauguration ceremony of then-Mayor Michael Hancock in 2019. U.S. District Court Senior Judge William J. Martínez found the officers had not performed a clearly unconstitutional seizure of Caryn…
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Federal judge, again, declines to dismiss lawsuit against Pueblo deputies in man’s killing
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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 declines to dismiss suit against Timnath officers who used force on disabled child
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Two Timnath police officers may be sued for allegedly violating the rights of a disabled 11-year-old by forcing him to the ground and handcuffing him as school staff were in the middle of de-escalation, a federal judge ruled last month. Officers Andrew Tope and Gabriela Ponce were stationed at Bethke Elementary School as school resource…
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10th Circuit rules Denver police lawfully searched man’s ‘abandoned’ backpack
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The federal appeals court based in Colorado agreed with prosecutors earlier this month that a shooting suspect effectively abandoned ownership of his backpack, which permitted police to search it and uncover an illegally possessed handgun inside. The Fourth Amendment protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures wherever they have a reasonable expectation of privacy. The…
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Federal judge denies immunity to Aurora officer in man’s series of store security lawsuits
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A federal judge has declined to grant immunity to an Aurora officer who allegedly detained a man and seized his property unlawfully, one of numerous lawsuits William Montgomery has filed in a long-running “sting” operation involving retail security personnel. Montgomery’s litigation stems from a series of encounters with roughly the same pattern: He enters a…
