A federal judge has ordered new monetary sanctions against a lawyer with a history of professional disciplinary infractions, finding she pursued a meritless lawsuit against Commerce City for over two
Although people may sue individual law enforcement officers for violating their rights under a recently-enacted policing accountability law, Colorado s second-highest court has clarified that lawsuits against local governments directly are
Citing Colorado’s police accountability law enacted in the wake of nationwide racial justice protests last summer, a judge rejected an attempt from the Commerce City Police Department to hear a use-of-force claim at the federal level.
Given the newfound ability of people to hold officers accountable in state courts for violations of rights, “the Court finds Defendant’s attempt to construe them as federal claims bizarre and inapt,” U.S. District Judge Raymond P. Moore wrote in a two-page Nov. 4 order.
Vincent Damon Ditirro filed a civil complaint in August against the Commerce City department, two Colorado State Patrol officers and other agencies in Adams County. He alleged the officers, while performing a roadside sobriety check in August 2018, beat and attacked Ditirro and caused him mental and physical damage.