This lawsuit was originally filed on behalf of five persons, each of whom was unjustly arrested and imprisoned—up to 26 days in one case—in a “mistaken identity” arrest. In each case, Denver law enforcement officers had legal grounds to arrest a particular suspect for an offense, but instead they arrested or caused the arrest of one of the ACLU’s innocent clients. In each case, the lawsuit asserts, officers deliberately ignored facts that demonstrated that they were arresting or causing the arrest of the wrong person.
The suit asserts that Denver policymakers knowingly tolerated an unjustifiable risk and frequency of such “mistaken identity” arrests, by failing to adopt and enforce policies, procedures, supervision, and training that would have reduced or eliminated that risk. Similarly, the suit contends, Denver failed to adopt procedures, supervision, and training that would promptly detect and correct such “mistaken identity” arrests when they occur.
In early 2009, ACLU lawyers amended the complaint and added a sixth plaintiff. Days later, ACLU wrote to Denver officials about a seventh ACLU client, Antonio Sanchez, who was languishing in Denver's jail because of a mistaken identify arrest. He later became ACLU's seventh plaintiff in the case.
Update: As the litigation progressed, some plaintiffs accepted individual monetary settlements and some individually-named defendants were dismissed on grounds of qualified immunity. Denver moved for summary judgment on ACLU's policy-and-practice claim. ACLU lawyers filed a 200-page response with dozens of exhibits documenting more than five hundred instances of mistaken-identity arrests over a seven-year period. While Denver's summary judgment motion was pending, the City paid monetary compensation to the remaining plaintiffs to settle the case.
ACLU news releases:
- "ACLU sues Denver on behalf of five innocent victims of 'mistaken identity' arrests," ACLU News Release, August 11, 2008
- "Denver authorizes settlement with ACLU over mistaken ID arrests," ACLU News Release, December 2, 2014
Media:
- Susan Greene, “Gigantic nightmare finally ends,” The Denver Post, March 20, 2008) (re ACLU client Christina FourHorn)
- Susan Greene, “We all pay for police mistakes,” The Denver Post, April 6, 2008 (re ACLU client Muse Jama)
- Susan Greene, “Locked into cops' mistakes,” The Denver Post, May 31, 2008 (re ACLU client Sam Moore)
- "ACLU files mistaken-identity suit against Denver," The Denver Post, August 11, 2008
- "ACLU sues over 5 mistaken identity arrests," 9 News, August 11, 2008
- "Colo. ACLU Sues Over 5 Mistaken Identity Arrests," Law Officer, August 12, 2008
- Susan Greene, “Cops need eyesight examined” The Denver Post, January 4, 2009 (re ACLU additional client De De Davis)
- Susan Greene, “Mistaken that identity errors fixed” The Denver Post, January 25, 2009 (re ACLU additional client Anthony Carlos Sanchez)
- Susan Greene, “Truth still in lockup in Denver” The Denver Post, January 29, 2009 (re ACLU all mistaken ID clients)
- "Officer, you've got the wrong person," CNN, February 15, 2010
- "Mistaken identity arrests ‘likely happen every day,'" Police1, February 26, 2010
- "Wrongfully jailed: Records detail more than 500 mistaken-identity arrests in Denver in seven years," The Denver Post, January 8, 2012
- "Cases of Denver mistaken-identity arrests," The Denver Post, January 8, 2012
-
“Lawsuit: Denver jailed wrong person in 500 cases,” 9 News, January 8, 2012
-
“Wrongfully jailed: Records detail more than 500 mistaken-identity arrests in Denver in seven years,” the feminist wire, January 15, 2012
- "Denver fix for mistaken-identity arrests: ID before lockup," The Denver Post, January 22, 2012
- "Mistaken Identity Cases at Heart of Denver Lawsuit Over Wrongful Arrests," New York Times, February 16, 2012
ACLU case number
2007-19