Watch CBS News

Federal jury awards Colorado sheriff, deputies over $5M in First Amendment lawsuit

A federal jury on Tuesday awarded over $5 million in damages to a Colorado sheriff and three deputies who accused the former sheriff of supporting a different candidate for sheriff.

Sheriff Gene Claps and Deputies Timothy 'TJ" Coates, Mark Mitchell and Kevin Currier were fired from the Adams County Sheriff's Office in what they said was retaliation for supporting Claps for sheriff.

The lawsuit, filed in 2020, says the four were fired by former Sheriff Richard Reigenborn after supporting Reigenborn's opponent, then-incumbent Sheriff Michael McIntosh, in the 2018 election for sheriff.

In a news conference on Tuesday afternoon, Iris Halpern, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said the money doesn't come from current allotted resources and, instead, comes from insurance money.

"These men lost their careers and this money is simply reimbursing them for the harms they suffered, and that's what the jury decided," Siddhartha Rathod, another attorney for the plaintiffs, said at the news conference.

Claps said the lawsuit did not influence his decision to later run for sheriff.

"This is a separate issue that we are facing with the violation of our constitutional rights and running for sheriff was all about putting safer communities and stronger leadership back into our community, which we all deserve," he said on Tuesday.

Currier said it was "fantastic" to return to work.

"Some of us were slightly young and so had a little bit more to give in terms of age," he said. "There's far too much experience and knowledge to share with the younger folks that we can't just get rid of."

The jury's ruling gave Mitchell "closure," he said: "It gives us an opportunity to come back and end our career on our terms."

When Reigenborn took office on Jan. 8, 2019, he told staff that future employment decisions were at his discretion, the lawsuit claimed. The next day, he fired the four plaintiffs and said they had no right to appeal the decision.

The plaintiffs vocally supported McIntosh and donated over $3,000 between the four of them to McIntosh's 2014 and 2018 election campaigns, court documents show. Attorneys for the plaintiffs say their donations and speech amounted to constitutionally protected activities under the First Amendment.

Coates, the only plaintiff of the four who has not returned to the sheriff's office, said he feels "far beyond cheated" by his inability to serve the rest of his career when he was physically able.

"I'm 64 next month so unfortunately, I think I'm too old to do what I need to do and to serve the way I've always served. I spent 35 years giving it 100% and while I can do it mentally, sometimes I don't know if I can do it physically," he said. "I lost who I was. I served Adams County for a long time and I appreciate the citizens of Adams County but it was taken from me. I had many good years left to serve and protect."

Messages were left seeking comment from attorneys for the defendants, including the Adams County Attorney's Office.

View CBS News In
CBS News App
Chrome Safari
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.