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Yes.

A law passed in 2020 allows Colorado residents to sue law enforcement officers for infringing on their rights under the state constitution. 

Senate Bill 217 states that qualified immunity, the legal doctrine that shields officers from being held personally liable for on-duty misconduct, is not a defense against civil action. It also upped Colorado’s reporting requirements for the use of force by police, banned their use of chokeholds and set a July 2023 deadline for all police agencies to equip their officers with body-worn cameras. 

The bill was introduced after a Minneapolis police officer’s murder of George Floyd led to protests nationwide, including in Colorado. Colorado police departments have since settled several major lawsuits over misconduct, including a $15 million settlement in the 2019 police-involved killing of Elijah McClain in Aurora and a $19 million settlement in the 2023 killing of Christian Glass by a Clear Creek County sheriff’s deputy.

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Sources

References:

Senate Bill 20-217, Colorado General Assembly, accessed February 2026. Source link

Aurora, Colo. will pay a $15 mil settlement over the death of Elijah McClain, NPR, Nov. 18, 2021. Source link

Family of Colorado man killed by police during mental health crisis gets $19 million settlement, PBS, May 23, 2023. Source link

Harlow v. Fitzgerald, p. 801 section 3(a), Library of Congress, accessed February 2026. Source link

Chauvin guilty of murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death, Associated Press, April 20, 2021. Source link

Type of Story: Fact-Check

Checks a specific statement or set of statements asserted as fact.

Cassis Tingley is a Denver-based freelance journalist. She’s spent the last three years covering topics ranging from political organizing and death doulas in the Denver community to academic freedom and administrative accountability at the...