Denver, Colorado

In June 2020, a dozen injured activists filed a civil suit claiming that the Denver Police Department (DPD) used excessive force and unnecessary acts of violence against them during a protest against police brutality and racial injustice. This led a federal judge to issue a temporary injunction barring the DPD from using tear gas, plastic bullets, flash-bang grenades and other "less-than-lethal" force unless approved by a senior officer in response to specific acts of violence. After a three-week trial, a jury ruled in favor of the activists, asserting that the DPD were improperly trained in response tactics. The lawsuit notes that while Denver had previously settled civil complaints due to police violence during protests responding to George Floyd’s murder, this was the first in the nation to go to trial.

In May 2020, Youssef Amghar, a Marine veteran, was protesting in Denver when the police shot pepper balls and threw tear gas canisters at them. They sued the city along with other protesters, and nearly two years later, Denver City Council agreed to settle their portion of the case for $250,000. The day before Amghar was injured, Megan Matthews was at a protest when an officer fired a rubber bullet at her, resulting in two surgeries to repair her various injuries to her head. The city settled her case for $575,000 in February 2022.

Michael Acker attended a demonstration in Denver reacting to the murder of George Floyd when Acker was shot in the eye with a foam projectile by a Denver officer. After needing stitches, Acker was left with vision problems and filed a lawsuit in October 2020. The city settled his case for $500,000.

In June 2020, the City of Denver agreed to limit the use of non-lethal weapons, such as tear-gas, flashbangs, and rubber bullets, in order to settle a pair of lawsuits stemming from protests against police misconduct during the summer.

The lawsuits alleged that members of the Denver Police Department misused non-lethal weapons during Denver’s George Floyd protests. A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order on the activity, but the order was set to expire in a few days. Prior to the order’s expiration, the city announced an agreement to limit violent police responses to protests. The new agreement requires that only police sergeants or above can approve the use of force and all officers must actively use body cameras when interacting with protestors, among other things.

According to The Denver Post’s review of data provided by the Denver City Attorney’s office, the City of Denver paid nearly $28 million for police and jail claims from 2004 to 2017. During the same time period, 82 percent of all settlements sent to the Denver City Council for approval (a total of $33.7 million) were for police and jail related claims. In September 2019, the Denver City Council approved a settlement total of $500,000 in an excessive force and malicious prosecution lawsuit filed against the Denver Police Department.