Lawsuit to proceed against Pueblo County, sheriff's deputies in death of Richard Ward
A federal judge ruled last week to allow the bulk of a lawsuit against Pueblo County sheriff's deputies involved in the February 2022 shooting death of Richard Ward to go forward, while dismissing some elements of the suit.
The lawsuit was originally filed against Pueblo County, Deputy Charles McWhorter, his partner at the sheriff's office, Cassandra Gonzales, and several other deputies that were at the scene of Ward's death.
Ward was shot three times by McWhorter during an altercation on Feb. 22, 2022, outside of Liberty Point Middle School in Pueblo West. Ward's brother was a student at the school and he'd accompanied his mother and her boyfriend to pick him up that day prior to the altercation with deputies.
The lawsuit alleges wrongful death, excessive use of lethal force, and constitutional violations against Ward, his mother, and his mother's boyfriend.
U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney ruled on July 25 to allow the majority of the lawsuit to go forward.
In the 21-page ruling, Sweeney found the plaintiffs provided sufficient factual evidence to support a claim that Pueblo County failed to adequately train its deputies.
"To begin, the complaint identifies specific failures in the individual defendants’ training — namely, that 'Pueblo County trains and tolerates its officers to use deadly force even under circumstances where the officer or a third party is not in imminent risk of death or serious bodily injury,' and that 'Pueblo County fails to adequately train its law enforcement officers in practices necessary to ensure excessive force is avoided, including principles of de-escalation and threat assessment,'" Sweeney wrote in her judgment.
"Moreover, the court agrees with plaintiffs that Pueblo County’s alleged defective training on appropriate uses of force caused Mr. Ward’s injury. For instance, plaintiffs plausibly allege that his death was a predictable result of Pueblo County’s failure to train defendants McWhorter and Gonzales," she wrote.
"Interpreting these allegations in the light most favorable to plaintiffs, the complaint sufficiently alleges that the inadequacy of Pueblo County’s training was obvious and likely to result in the injury or death of someone in Mr. Ward’s position and that Mr. Ward’s injury could have been prevented by providing training on appropriate uses of force."
Sweeney also upheld four claims against multiple deputies at the scene, claiming constitutional violations related to unlawful arrest, unlawful search and seizure, and retaliation.
Defense attorneys had argued in their request for dismissal that the complaint did not give proper notice and which specific defendant committed which specific act during the incident in question.
Sweeney wrote that the complaint had indeed specified which defendants committed which acts, and to the extent that the complaint alleged actions by unspecified Pueblo County Sheriff's Office personnel, other courts have allowed claims against collective groups of individuals where it "would be unfair to require the plaintiff to identify which specific defendant committed which specific act during the incident in question." She cited a previous case in which a plaintiff alleged claims against a group of officers for searching a home without probable cause.
“The alleged relationship among the defendants makes it understandable that claims would be linked by common allegations," Sweeney wrote in her opinion, quoting previous case law.
Sweeney also denied a claim by the defense that the individual deputies were entitled to qualified immunity.
Under the doctrine of qualified immunity, “government officials performing discretionary functions generally are shielded from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.”
Sweeney wrote that the motion to dismiss charges spent three paragraphs reciting the elements of qualified immunity, and then asserted without any supporting argument that the individual deputies are entitled to the doctrine's protection, which she found did not adequately raise the defense.
When a defendant raises the defense of qualified immunity, a plaintiff carries the burden to show that the defendant's actions violated a federal constitutional or statutory right, and that right was clearly established at the time of the defendant's unlawful conduct. However, Sweeney wrote, "The court cannot conclude the defendant's cursory argument is sufficient to meet that burden."
Furthermore, Colorado law allows victims and families of victims to sue individual officers for violations of rights. Under the legislation signed by Gov. Jared Polis, qualified immunity is not a defense for officers accused of such violations.
Sweeney did, however, dismiss two counts related to unlawful arrest and first amendment retaliation, writing that Pueblo County as an employer could not be grouped in with the individual deputies in the allegations.
Sweeney also dismissed constitutional charges against Pueblo County that alleged the county failed to take disciplinary actions against the individual defendants after Ward's death, which, the plaintiffs claimed, indicated the individual defendant's conduct was in line with official policy or custom.
The decision to dismiss that claim was based on a failure to state a plausible claim of liability because the plaintiffs "have not identified any official 'policy,'" or custom that caused the injuries alleged in the complaint, Sweeney wrote.
Following Ward's death, the 10th Judicial District Critical Incident Team (CIT) investigated the shooting and released a report, signed by District Attorney Jeff Chostner on Oct. 14, 2022, that concluded McWhorter’s use of force was “justified.”
Questions, comments, or story tips? Contact Justin at jreutterma@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter@jayreutter1. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Lawsuit against Pueblo County, sheriff's deputies in death of Richard Ward proceeds
