COLUMBUS, Ind. — A federal judge did not completely dismiss a civil rights lawsuit related to a former Colorado Springs police officer recently hired by the Columbus Police Department related to his conduct on the job.
In the lawsuit in Colorado, plaintiff Michael Sexton alleges that his First and Fourth Amendment rights were violated in 2019 when Matthew Anderson, a Colorado Springs police officer at the time, pinned him to the hood of his squad car, wrenched his arm and issued him a citation for jaywalking in retaliation for flipping him off moments earlier.
Judge Philip A. Brimmer of U.S. District Court in Denver allowed the lawsuit to proceed with claims against Anderson for violations of free speech, retaliation and unreasonable search and seizure, finding that Sexton had made a sufficient showing that the officer did not have probable cause to detain him for jaywalking, according to a March 31 ruling. The judge dismissed other claims against Anderson alleging excessive force and malicious prosecution and all claims against the City of Colorado Springs.
For more on this story, see Tuesday’s Republic.
