SHOCKING Fort Collins Stories - by Greg Anderson

The city of Fort Collins, Colorado is known for its rich history, stunning landscapes, and quiet living. Like many other small cities in the United States, however, Fort Collins is not immune to the difficulties inherent in urban locations, and has been the site of two recent incidents that shook this mountainous community of northern Colorado.

The first incident occurred in October, 2017 near the campus of Colorado State University. A woman was arrested outside her apartment complex when a plainclothes police officer claimed that he spotted her vehicle speeding. After following the vehicle briefly until it stopped, the officer confronted the woman. Video footage shot by a bystander showed the officer pinning the woman to the ground. Subsequent reviews of the incident and footage were conducted by both the Fort Collins Police Department and the Citizen Review Board. The reviews indicated that the officer violated long-standing department policies against the use of excessive force.  

In October, 2019, the woman filed an excessive force lawsuit against the police officer and the City of Fort Collins. The lawsuit claims the officer used more force than was necessary to detain the woman during the incident, and that the city showed deliberate indifference to officers’ actions. The plaintiff in the lawsuit seeks financial compensation for emotional distress, physical injury, loss of reputation, and pain and suffering, among several other damages named in the suit. 
​
A second incident in Fort Collins led to the death of an area resident. On October 11, 2019, a pedestrian was struck and killed in the 200 block of W. Harmony Road in Fort Collins. A vehicle traveling westbound on the roadway hit the man as he attempted to cross the street. After receiving care on-site, the victim was transported to the Medical Center of the Rockies, where he died from his injuries. The Fort Collins Police Department’s Special Operations Division is investigating the circumstances that led to the collision and the pedestrian’s death; currently, it is believed that speed and alcohol use were not factors in the fatal collision.