traffic stop
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Appeals court overturns Adams County drug convictions due to unconstitutional police conduct
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Colorado’s second-highest court overturned a man’s drug convictions and 25-year prison sentence on Thursday after concluding two Northglenn police officers unconstitutionally transformed a traffic stop into a drug investigation without reasonable suspicion of a crime. Clifton E. McRae, who was originally stopped for making an illegal turn, repeatedly declined to consent to a search of…
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Lakewood police acted unconstitutionally in using drug detection dog, Supreme Court rules by 5-2
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Lakewood police violated the constitutional prohibition on unreasonable searches by ensuring a driver’s door remained open so a drug detection dog could sniff inside the vehicle without probable cause, the Colorado Supreme Court concluded on Monday. In the 5-2 decision, all justices agreed with the principle that law enforcement conducts a search if they “facilitate”…
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Colorado justices find Adams County judge mistakenly barred drug evidence from man’s arrest
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An Adams County judge mistakenly concluded that sheriff’s deputies unconstitutionally prolonged a traffic stop, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday, when the facts showed the officers had actually placed the defendant under “full arrest” supported by probable cause. The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, and there are limits on law enforcement’s ability…
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Pueblo County sheriff, deputies may be held liable for excessive force in traffic stop, federal judge rules
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A federal judge has denied a request from the Pueblo County sheriff to dismiss a civil rights lawsuit against him and two of his deputies, stemming from a November 2019 traffic stop in which the officers allegedly slammed a woman into the ground and falsely claimed she was speeding. Britney Nicole Kennedy sued Sheriff Kirk…
