10th Circuit Orders New Unlawful Arrest Trial for Colorado Springs Officers
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit has ordered a new trial in an unlawful arrest case against Colorado Springs officers, ruling that a trial judge improperly allowed jurors to view unflattering video clips of the plaintiff, Sasha Cronick. Cronick had sued officers Christopher Pryor and Robert McCafferty, alleging unlawful search and arrest after she was handcuffed in 2018, minutes after helping resuscitate a man who had overdosed. The original trial sided with the officers. However, the appellate court agreed with Cronick that videos showing her berating police in unrelated incidents were unfairly prejudicial and distracted from the core issue of whether her constitutional rights were violated during the Sun Springs Motel incident. The 10th Circuit did uphold a $18,680 sanction against Cronick and her lawyers for deleting electronic evidence. 
