A woman arrested for disrupting Denver Mayor Michael Hancock's 2019 inauguration has plausibly alleged police officers retaliated against her and detained her without probable cause of a crime, a federal judge has ruled.
Although Denver sought to dismiss the lawsuit from Caryn Marie Sodaro by arguing the five defendant officers had sufficient justification to arrest her for violating a city ordinance, U.S. District Court Judge William J. Martínez decided Sodaro's claims suggested an unlawful arrest in retaliation for her free speech.
At the same time, Martínez rejected Sodaro's attempt to hold Denver itself liable for the alleged violations of her constitutional rights simply because city policymakers, including Hancock and then-police Chief Paul Pazen, were present at the inauguration.
"The Court finds that Plaintiff has not adequately alleged that the mayor or the other city officials at the inauguration were even aware of the circumstances of her arrest," Martínez wrote in a Sept. 21 order. "Most importantly, Plaintiff fails to plausibly allege that these city officials knew she was arrested without probable cause."
On July 15, 2019, Hancock was sworn in to a third and final term on the steps of the City and County Building, along with other city officials. Sodaro approached a temporary fence near the podium and reportedly said, "stop harassing the homeless," a reference to the city's "sweeps" of homeless encampments. She then claimed police immediately handcuffed her "for expressing her point of view."
Denverite reported at the time that multiple attendees shouted at Hancock about the city's treatment of homeless residents, but Sodaro was the only person arrested. According to Lt. Ken Chavez, Sodaro alleged movement toward the stage triggered the police response.
Chavez and police employees Jacob Vaporis, Robert Foster, Joseph Heckenkamp, and Fernando Benavides III allegedly arrested Sodaro for violating the municipal ordinance against disrupting a parade, procession or gathering. Denver prosecutors later dropped the charge against Sodaro.
The city submitted body-worn camera footage to the court that purportedly showed Sodaro disrupting the inauguration, but Martínez did not believe it clearly contradicted Sodaro's version of events. Official footage of the inauguration recorded multiple people heckling Hancock at various points. One woman was audible during Hancock's oath of office and initial remarks, although it was unclear whether the voice was Sodaro's.
In her lawsuit, Sodaro alleged an unlawful arrest, malicious prosecution, a violation of her First Amendment right to free speech, and retaliation for constitutionally-protected speech.
"Ms. Sodaro had lawfully expressed her opinion regarding an elected official's mistreatment of the homeless," wrote attorney Kenneth Mark Burton. "Pointedly, gaining the attention of citizens in a public event does not equate with disrupting lawful assembly. Besides, the designated area where Ms. Sodaro and others were protesting was designed for citizens to participate peacefully through both positive cheers and boos, such as Ms. Sodaro's expression 'stop harassing the homeless.'"
The city countered that Sodaro's speech was not protected, arguing there is no First Amendment right to "shout down another speaker." Based on her behavior, officers had probable cause to arrest her for violating the ordinance.
"Plaintiff’s shouting caused a disturbance of the ceremony to the point that several individuals began turning to Plaintiff instead of at the ceremony," wrote the Denver City Attorney's Office. "Plaintiff caused a disruption to a lawful permitted event to the extent which is not protected by the First Amendment."
Martínez agreed with Denver that certain allegations from Sodaro did not demonstrate the city could be held liable for her arrest — namely Sodaro's assertion of a "cowboy culture" within the police department that causes officers to target activists. But the judge believed Sodaro's claim she had not disrupted the inauguration, if true, meant officers had arrested her without probable cause of a violation.
Further, in the absence of a disruption, Sodaro's claim was also plausible that her speech about the rights of homeless residents was protected under the First Amendment. Finally, if her arrest was based upon a non-existent disruption, the officers' actions led to her allegedly malicious prosecution. Martínez found all defendants but Foster could be held liable for the various allegations of constitutional violations.
Sodaro's attorney did not immediately responded to a request for comment and a representative of the city attorney's office declined to comment. 9News reported in 2020 that Sodaro has had other run-ins with Denver police over her protest-related activities.
The case is Sodaro v. City and County of Denver et al.
