78-year-old Woman Wins $3.76 Million Verdict Against Police in Colorado State Court

Denver, June 15, 2023 (AP) — In a landmark decision, a jury in state court in Denver ruled in favor of Ruby Johnson, a 78-year-old woman, and announced a $3.76 million jury verdict on Monday. This verdict came after a lawsuit against two police officers who wrongfully searched her home. The case was managed under a new Colorado law that permits individuals to sue the police for violations of their state constitutional rights. The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado assisted in representing Johnson in the lawsuit.

Wrongful Search and the Raid

The lawsuit alleged that the police obtained a search warrant for Johnson's home based on misleading information. The owner of a stolen truck, which contained firearms, cash, and other items, tracked his phone to Johnson's home using the Find My app and passed that information to the police. On January 4, 2022, a SWAT team arrived at Johnson's home, prompting her to come out of the shower to the distressing sight of armored vehicles, police presence, and armed personnel in military-style gear.

It was revealed that Detective Gary Staab had wrongfully obtained the warrant by not disclosing the limitations of the app's information, which provides only a general location of a phone. The lawsuit also highlighted that the police used excessive force by using a battering ram to enter Johnson's garage and damaging her property in the process, causing significant emotional distress to Johnson.

Legal Actions and Police Reform

The lawsuit was significant as it was the first notable case to go to trial under a provision of a comprehensive police reform bill passed in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd. This legislation allowed individuals to sue police officers for state constitutional violations in state court, marking a departure from the previous practice of filing such lawsuits in federal court.

The ACLU of Colorado emphasized that the case shed light on the emotional and psychological harm experienced by Johnson, affecting her sense of safety in the home where she had raised her children. Johnson, a retired U.S. Postal Service worker and grandmother, ultimately had to relocate to a different neighborhood due to the trauma caused by the wrongful raid on her home.