After enduring a harrowing ordeal when her home was wrongfully targeted by a Colorado SWAT team, a Black grandmother, Ruby Johnson, has received substantial compensation following her lawsuit.
Represented by the ACLU of Colorado, 78-year-old Ruby Johnson filed a lawsuit against Denver PD Detective Gary Staab and Sgt. Gregory Buschy, alleging violations of her constitutional rights in connection to a troubling incident in January 2022.
The ACLU asserted that the two officers hastily obtained a search warrant for Johnson’s home without sufficient probable cause. The warrant was based on a pinned location from an iPhone’s “Find My” app, leading the DPD SWAT team to descend upon Johnson’s home in full military-style gear, brandishing loaded rifles.
Body camera footage captured the surreal scene as officers swarmed her residence, commanding everyone to exit. The only occupant was Ms. Johnson, who emerged from her home in her robe, slippers, and bonnet, visibly bewildered by the overwhelming police presence.
The officers proceeded to conduct a thorough search for stolen guns and other items, despite Johnson’s lack of knowledge regarding any such possessions, as per the ACLU. The video captured an officer audibly pondering, “Where do you think she’s hiding the rifle?”
Ultimately, the search yielded nothing incriminating, leaving Ms. Johnson rightfully vindicated. The jury’s verdict was emphatic, awarding $1.26 million in compensatory damages and an additional $2.5 million in punitive damages.
The decision reflected the jury’s belief that the officers had demonstrated willful and wanton disregard for Ms. Johnson’s constitutional rights against unreasonable search and seizure.
The Colorado Constitution mandates that search warrants be founded on probable cause supported by a written affidavit before law enforcement can breach the sanctity of someone’s home. However, the jury found that the warrant in question lacked the necessary probable cause.
The ACLU emphasized that both Johnson and her home endured lasting scars from the traumatic incident. Johnson, having lived in her home for 43 years, lost her sense of security and ultimately decided to relocate, as stated by Tim Macdonald, ACLU of Colorado Legal Director.
The settlement aims to provide some measure of justice for Johnson and to underscore the importance of upholding constitutional protections for all citizens.
“This is a small step toward justice for Ms. Johnson, but it is a critical case under our state’s Constitution, for the first time affirming that police can be held accountable for invading someone’s home without probable cause,” he said to NBC News.
SOURCE: theroot.com