A jury awarded a Montbello woman $3.76 million over an illegal search warrant

A Colorado jury awarded a 78-year-old Montbello woman $3.76 million in damages Monday, ruling that the Denver Police Department violated the Colorado Constitution when searching Ruby Johnson’s home in 2022.

The case dates back to January of that year, when Denver Police Detective Gary Staab and Sergeant Gregory Buschy were investigating a theft involving a stolen truck, which included an iPhone. According to court documents and statements from American Civil Liberties Union Colorado, which brought the case, Staab and Buschy pursued a search warrant for Johnson’s home based on claims that Apple’s “Find My iPhone” feature pinged Johnson’s house. Officers arrived at Johnson’s home wearing body armor and carrying automatic weapons and searched her house.

But according to Johnson’s lawyers, the “Find My iPhone” feature could not pinpoint Johnson’s home exactly, but rather gave an approximate location range on the Montbello street. “On the contrary, the app indicated that the phone’s location could not accurately be identified and there was zero basis to single out Ms. Johnson’s home,” ACLU Colorado wrote in a 2022 statement on the case.

A Colorado jury ruled in Johnson’s favor on Monday, awarding her $1.26 million in compensatory damages and $2.5 million in punitive damages. The jury found that the officers did not have sufficient cause to bring a search warrant.

“Not only was her privacy violated, and invaluable possessions destroyed, but her sense of safety in her own home was ripped away, forcing her to move from the place where she had set her roots and built community in for 40 years,” said Deborah Richardson, ACLU of Colorado Executive Director. “Though the outcome of this trial will not fully undo the harm of that fateful day, it puts us one step closer to justice for her and others who have found their lives turned upside down because of police misconduct.”

The Denver Police Department declined Denverite’s request for comment.

ACLU Colorado called the ruling “precedent-setting.”

The organization said the case is just one example of a larger problem in which police obtain warrants and invading people’s homes based on false information, sometimes involving a misrepresentation of technology.

“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,” said Tim Macdonald, ACLU of Colorado Legal Director, in a statement Monday.