The Denver-based federal appeals court decided on Monday that the city of Aurora cannot be held liable for an officer’s attack on a woman while he was serving a suspension for shooting a different person.
Wyoma Martinez filed suit against Officer Douglas Harroun and the city after Harroun used force against Martinez at her apartment complex in January 2023 while he was on leave. Arapahoe County prosecutors charged him with assault by strangulation, but he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.
Martinez lodged claims against Harroun for excessive force, while alleging Aurora’s policies for officers who are on administrative leave were the driving force behind Harroun’s unconstitutional conduct…