$175,000 settlement includes training for Denver police

By The Denver Post

The city of Denver will make sure police get proper training on how to enforce restraining orders in the wake of a $175,000 payout to settle a wrongful arrest lawsuit, officials said Monday.

Mel Thompson, the city's deputy manager of safety, told the City Council that all officers will receive ongoing training on the proper protocol.
The council on Monday agreed to pay $175,000 to settle a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of Amy Shroff. Officer Frank Spellman mistakenly arrested Shroff on Feb. 23, 2006, for violating a restraining order that was supposed to protect her.
The order barred her former boyfriend from coming within 100 yards of Shroff and was not reciprocal, the city now says. Spellman arrested Shroff after she complained to police that her former boyfriend used his truck to block her from exiting the parking lot of the District 3 police station.
Shroff spent a night in jail. Her 4-month-old baby became ill because she had a medical condition that prevented her from digesting formula. Christopher Osher, The Denver Post