Denver police to pay $14M to victims of excessive police force

On Friday, jurors in Colorado ordered the city and county of Denver to pay $14 million in damages to 12 plaintiffs after finding police officers used excessive force during demonstrations over the killing of George Floyd in 2020.
The jury of eight determined Friday that the Denver Police Department failed to properly train its officers, leading to brutality against the protesters.
The panel stated the plaintiffs’ First and Fourth Amendment rights were violated.
Legal director with the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, Mark Silverstein, stated, “The verdict is a message to the police department, to the highest echelons of the police department, but also a message to police departments all over the country.”
The verdict followed three weeks of presentations involving expert testimony, testimony from the police and protesters, and video evidence from body cameras and cellphones.