DENVER – Two Denver police officers plan to return to work after several court rulings saying that they were unjustly fired more than a decade ago after beating a man during an arrest.
The Colorado Supreme Court most recently rejected the case leaving an appeals court ruling that favored officers Devin Sparks and Randy Murr, the Denver Post reported Monday.
The Colorado Court of Appeals ruled last year that the Denver Department of Safety did not have the authority to rescind a previous less-severe disciplinary order and fire the officers.
The officers could receive tens of thousands of dollars in back pay equivalent to 10 years worth of salary, minus money they earned or could have earned, attorney Karla Pierce previously told the Post.
The officers’ attorney Sean Olson also didn’t know how much Sparks and Murr are owed. Both officers intend to rejoin the department, he said.
“As far as I know, that’s the plan,” Olson said.
Sparks and Murr were first suspended after injuring Michael DeHerrera during an arrest outside a downtown club in 2009, authorities said. The officers were then disciplined for filing inaccurate reports and later fired after an investigation.
“We are acutely aware that this result means that the officers essentially escape the consequences of their conduct, a result that is directly contrary to what the facts compel,” the court’s ruling said. “But agencies and courts must employ just and proper procedures to obtain just and equitable results.”
Attorneys for both sides are now expected to negotiate what’s next for Sparks and Murr, who both still live in the Denver area, officials said.
