Denver paid $1.1 million settlement to police officers fired after beating unarmed man, records show

A photograph of Michael DeHerrera aft the beating.

Two erstwhile Denver constabulary officers were paid much than $1.1 cardinal by the metropolis aft winning a decade-long ineligible conflict successful which they argued they should not person been fired for severely beating an unarmed antheral successful 2009, their colony agreements show.

The erstwhile officers, Devin Sparks and Randy Murr, were fired successful 2011 aft they bushed Michael DeHerrera, past 23, and lied astir the incident. DeHerrera was hospitalized aft the assault.

The metropolis paid Sparks $420,000 and Murr $593,597 successful backmost pay, according to colony agreements signed successful March obtained by The Denver Post done a nationalist records request.

Both men besides received thousands of dollars successful speech for promises to ne'er again enactment for the Denver Police Department oregon immoderate different metropolis agency. Sparks received $15,000 for this committedness and Murr received $50,000.

“It hurts due to the fact that we didn’t get immoderate justice,” DeHererra’s father, Anthony DeHerrera, said successful an interview. “We’ve been done each this symptom and suffering similar thing ever happened. They fundamentally got a 10-year abrogation with each their backmost pay.”

The settlements are the last merchandise of a 10-year tribunal conflict betwixt the metropolis and the erstwhile officers, who argued that they ne'er should person been fired. The litigation ended past twelvemonth erstwhile the Colorado Supreme Court declined to perceive the case, which near a Colorado Court of Appeals determination successful favour of the erstwhile officers arsenic the last ruling. The appeals tribunal ruling reversed the firing and said the officers should person backmost pay.

“We fought hard to uphold the terminations but unfortunately, for procedural reasons, we didn’t prevail,” Mike Strott, spokesperson for Mayor Michael Hancock, said successful an email. “Nobody is blessed astir this outcome.”

The magnitude paid by the metropolis to Sparks and Murr is 61 times the $17,500 colony Michael DeHerrera received from the city.

Anthony DeHerrera said his lad settled rapidly aft the beating due to the fact that helium wanted the ordeal implicit and was assured by the officers’ firings. Michael DeHerrera does not similar to speech astir the officers beating him but inactive suffers headaches from his injuries from that night, his begetter said.

The Denver City Attorney’s Office contacted the DeHerrera household erstwhile the colony with the officers was reached and told them the presumption of the agreement.

“It’s similar getting punched successful the tummy implicit and implicit again, similar we person been for the past 10 oregon 11 years,” Anthony DeHerrera said.

The lawyer who represented Sparks and Murr did not instrumentality a telephone for remark Tuesday.

The court’s uncovering successful favour of Sparks and Murr revealed a “huge, historical problem” that the metropolis struggled with astatine the time, Strott said. The constabulary section and civilian work process was analyzable and last decisions could instrumentality years. The decisions were besides often hard to uphold, helium said.

“We person made strides since past to amended and streamline the process wherever we can, but anybody looking astatine this tin spot that the appeals process present took mode excessively long,” Strott said.

Murr and Sparks contacted DeHerrera and a person connected April 4, 2009, successful Lower Downtown aft they were kicked retired of a barroom for trying to usage the women’s restroom. Video footage of the beating showed Sparks slam DeHerrera face-first to the crushed extracurricular of LoDo bars portion DeHerrera spoke to his begetter connected the telephone astir his friend’s arrest. Sparks past bushed DeHerrera with a baton and, aft cuffing him, Sparks and Murr yanked him to his feet by his arms and slammed a car doorway connected his ankle arsenic they enactment him successful a constabulary cruiser.

In July 2010, Manager of Safety Ron Perea suspended Sparks and Murr for 3 days successful transportation to the incident. A period later, helium rescinded that determination and re-opened the interior affairs probe aft video footage revealed the officers lied erstwhile they told investigators that DeHerrera tried to punch them. Perea resigned Aug. 31, 2010, amid backlash implicit however helium handled the case.

In March 2011, the city’s caller manager of safety, Charles Garcia, fired Sparks and Murr for lying. The officers appealed their firing, which sparked 9 years of litigation that brought the lawsuit earlier the city’s Civil Service Commission 4 times, the Denver District Court 3 times and yet to the state’s highest courts.

The Colorado Court of Appeals successful 2019 ruled successful the officers’ favour due to the fact that it recovered that Perea did not person the authorization to re-open the disciplinary cases against Sparks and Murr aft the 10-day deadline to entreaty the determination passed.

“We are acutely alert that this effect means that the officers fundamentally flight the consequences of their conduct, a effect that is straight contrary to what the facts compel,” the court’s ruling states. “But agencies and courts indispensable employment conscionable and due procedures to get conscionable and equitable results.”