Denver Cop Loses Qualified Immunity Bid in False Arrest Lawsuit

A Denver police officer must defend claims that he falsely arrested a man for refusing to provide identification and asking a friend to record the interaction.

Plaintiff John Collins alleges he was repairing a car door when officer Austin Barela approached and asked to see ID. Collins declined to provide it and asked an acquaintance inside the car to record the encounter, althouh the friend never did so. After repeated requests, Barela arrested Collins for “failure to identify.”

Barela isn’t shielded by qualified immunity from Collins’ false arrest claim because it would have been clear to a reasonable officer that ...