Warrantless Raid on the Wrong People Costs Denver Cops $1.8 Million

On Jan. 27,
2009, Denver cops pounded on the door of a home that used
to be a drug den and brothel. Not having kept their
information current, the cops didn’t know the house was now
occupied by Daniel Martinez Jr. (pictured) and his family. They
also “had no warrant, no application for a warrant, nothing,” as
the family’s attorney
later described the scene. The officers rushed inside and
roughed up the residents, including shoving a 16 year old boy’s
head through a window and and dealing out a generous dollop of
beatings and bodyslamming.

Then they realized they’d fucked up. So they trumped up charges
against the family.

Fortunately, a jury saw through the cops’ bullshit and found
Nathan Martinez and Daniel Martinez III not guilty of misdemeanor
assault charges. Subsequently, the district attorney saw the light
and abandoned the case against Daniel Martinez Jr. and Jonathan
Martinez.

Now the Martinez family is getting some payback after suing the
cops and their employers.

From Kirk Mitchell at the
Denver Post:

A Denver jury on Friday awarded $1.8 million to a family after a
wrongful prosecution case in which police officers executed a
warrantless raid on a home previously occupied by drug dealers and
prostitutes.

The lawsuit was filed in 2011 against the city and county of
Denver and four police officers. Claims against the city later were
dropped in a summary judgment.

A jury of 10 awarded various amounts to the four family members
based on different amounts of damages attributed to the four
officers. The jury awarded a total of $1.25 million of punitive
damages collectively to the family.

The family also alleged excessive force, but the jury in the
lawsuit couldn’t come to a decision on that allegation. The
ultimate payout, if it survives the officers’ promised appeals,
could add up to $3 million including interest and attorney’s
fee.