Colorado’s second-highest court last week upheld Denver’s discipline of two officers whose investigation of a domestic violence report was brief, failed to separate the victim from her abuser, and overlooked the victim’s severe injuries.
Officers Cory Stuper and Brian Finneran argued that pervasive procedural violations in the adjudicative process and their own desire to respect the victim’s Fourth Amendment rights were grounds to overturn their 10-day suspensions.
Although a three-judge Court of Appeals panel was concerned with the irregularities in the case, it found the evidence supported Denver’s conclusion that the officers could and should have done more to investigate the perpetrator’s abuse of the victim…