This class-action lawsuit was filed on July 1, 2020 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. The suit came in response to police tactics used to quell protests in Denver that followed the police killing of George Floyd in May of 2020. Plaintiffs, seven private individuals, were represented by the civil rights law firm Loevy & Loevy and brought this suit against the city and county of Denver, as well as 10 anonymous officers of Denver Police Department (called Does 1-10). The class-action suit established two separate, putative classes: the Arrest Class, made up of those who were arrested in the protests, and the Direct Force Class, composed of protesters who suffered injuries from police using weapons.

The suit alleged that on May 28, 2020 the Denver Police used weapons like tear gas, flashbang grenades, pepper spray, pepper balls, and rubber bullets on peaceful protesters. According to the complaint, these actions violated the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments. The First Amendment count claimed that the defendants' actions violated the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of Free Speech and Freedom to Petition. They also argued that the city's curfew itself was unlawfully executed because it only applied to protesters and not to non-protesters. The Fourth Amendment count argued that the defendants' actions in arresting and firing weapons at protesters constituted unreasonable search and seizure and excessive force. Finally, the Fourteenth Amendment count claimed that defendants violated the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause. Specifically, the Direct Force Class was denied Due Process when the police fired weapons at them "indiscriminately" and the Arrest Class was denied Due Process and Equal Protection when the police arrested them for violation of curfew, according to the complaint. Plaintiffs sought class certification, declaratory relief, injunctive relief prohibiting defendants from further violations, and general and punitive damages. They also sought attorney's fees and costs.

The case was assigned to Magistrate Judge Michael E. Hegarty.

A week later, plaintiffs submitted a notice of related cases, citing two cases with common facts and claims and with at least one party in common: Abay v. Denver and Black Lives Matter 5280 v. Denver.

The plaintiffs amended the complaint on July 23, 2020.

The case was reassigned to Judge Lewis T. Babcock, since not all parties consented to jurisdiction of the magistrate judge. Then on July 28, the case was reassigned to Judge R. Brooke Jackson, consistent with the reassignment in Black Lives Matter 5280 v. City and County of Denver. On August 4, the two cases were consolidated together with BLM 5280 designated as the lead case. Additional information on this litigation can be found under the BLM 5280 entry. The case is ongoing as of January 2, 2021.

Jack Hibbard - 09/29/2020


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