Woman Wins $3.76 Million Case After SWAT Searches Wrong Home

Thursday, March 07, 2024

ACLU of Colorado: In a precedent-setting decision under a new statute allowing enforcement of the Colorado Constitution, a Colorado jury awarded $3.76 million in damages to Ruby Johnson, a 78-year-old Montbello grandmother, on Friday after concluding that Denver Police Department (DPD) Detective Gary Staab and DPD Sergeant Gregory Buschy violated the Colorado Constitution by hastily seeking, obtaining, and executing a search warrant of her home without probable cause or proper investigation.

Posted by qcp at 10:32 PM | 9 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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More: According to the lawsuit, Johnson, a retired U.S. Postal Service worker and grandmother, had just gotten out of the shower on Jan. 4, 2022, when she heard a command over a bullhorn for anyone inside to exit with their hands up. Wearing only a bathrobe, she opened her front door to see an armored personnel carrier parked on her front lawn, police vehicles along her street and men in full military-style gear carrying rifles and a police dog.

Detective Gary Staab had wrongly obtained the warrant to search Johnson's home because he did not point out that the app's information is not precise and provides only a general location where a phone could be, the lawsuit said.

#1 | Posted by qcp at 2024-03-07 10:37 AM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

Notice how the judges who sign off on these flimsy warrants never get held accountable. That's an important part of how these narratives always play out. The focus is always sloppy work by the police.

And while it is sloppy work by the police, it's never the rubber stamp Judge who gets any of the blame. The reason the police work is so sloppy, is the Judge gives them an A+ every time. We saw the same thing with the FISA courts, where out of 13,000 wiretap requests, exactly two were denied.

#2 | Posted by snoofy at 2024-03-07 02:18 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 4

Now take it out of their paychecks instead of taxpayer's dollars.

#3 | Posted by zeropointnrg at 2024-03-07 02:38 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

Good.

#4 | Posted by BellRinger at 2024-03-08 01:25 AM | Reply

#3 | Posted by zeropointnrg

If only. Sloppy and lazy policing.

I don't know what triggered it (I think I was just sick bored and not wanting to have to think) but I started watching a bunch of those videos of people standing up for their rights and "auditing" one day recently - now that's a rabbit hole. The videos narrators always use inflammatory language that rarely accurately describes the situation. While some are flaming idiots others do a good job of it. The police are almost always just clueless flaming idiots but always cajoling. USUALLY the supervisor gets it right but not always.

#5 | Posted by GalaxiePete at 2024-03-08 11:19 AM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

Now take it out of their paychecks instead of taxpayer's dollars.

#3 | POSTED BY ZEROPOINTNRG

So you are also for defunding the police?

#6 | Posted by donnerboy at 2024-03-08 11:31 AM | Reply

Now take it out of their paychecks instead of taxpayer's dollars.
#3 | POSTED BY ZEROPOINTNRG

My understanding is that the primary officers involved were sued in their individual capacities under a new Colorado police reform statute, and that the police department was not sued. Therefore unless there is some bizarre rule where the officers can somehow foist their judgment back onto taxpayers, your wish will be granted here.

#7 | Posted by JOE at 2024-03-08 11:44 AM | Reply

So you are also for defunding the police?

#6 | POSTED BY DONNERBOY AT 2024-03-08 11:31 AM | REPLY | FLAG:

Mistake me for a republican because I criticized democrats somewhere? I'm not independent because I'm a centrist. I'm independent because I think democrats are just republican lite and need to do better to earn my vote. Neither here nor there in this thread.

As for defunding? Not precisely - but they need to lose the wannabe military equipment.

What I'm for is police accountability. They have the power to make life and death decisions, and they should be held to a higher standard for that. You don't get to make mistakes in those circumstances, and they should both be indicted more readily and face harsher penalties than someone not committing crimes "under color of law." Not should civil asset forfeiture be a thing, damages caused when they decide to play Rambo should be mandatory to cover, "immunity" is absolute bs, and they should either be directly responsible in instances like this, or minimally forced to carry insurance so bad cops can be priced out if nothing else.

It's absolute insanity that the military has to answer to UCMJ and rules of engagement when dealing with enemy combatants, yet LEO's get away with almost any abuse against their own fellow citizens.

#8 | Posted by zeropointnrg at 2024-03-08 08:50 PM | Reply

#7 | POSTED BY JOE AT 2024-03-08 11:44 AM | FLAG:

Best news I've heard all day!

#9 | Posted by zeropointnrg at 2024-03-08 08:51 PM | Reply