Zach Gifford (2020)
Overview
On April 9, 2020, Kiowa County Colorado Sheriff's Office Undersheriff Tracy Weisenhorn initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle for failing to use a turn signal. Gifford was a passenger.[1][2]
Shortly after the stop, Deputy Quenten Stump arrived. During a consensual search, the officers found a small baggie with white powder in Gifford's pocket and no threatening weapons.[1][2]
Gifford ran, but was apprehended by both officers, taken to the ground, and tased multiple times. Gifford got away, and officers shot him as he fled.[1] Gifford died at the scene.[2]
The Prowers County Sheriff's Office investigated, with assistance from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation[3]
By April 15, 2020, both officers were placed on paid administrative leave.[4]
On January 12, 2021, Stump was arrested and charged with two counts of attempted second-degree murder and one count of assault with a deadly weapon. The three felony counts each carry a sentence from 10 to 32 years.[3][5]
Weisenhorn, who fired first, has not been charged.[1] The District Attorney noted that Weisenhorn was not the officer who patted down Gifford, so it was possible that she believed Gifford to be armed.[6]
On March 8, 2021, Weisenhorn was fired.[7]
On October 20, 2021, Gifford's family filed a lawsuit against the officers, claiming violation of Gifford's rights under the Fourth Amendment for excessive force, and against the County and the Sheriff for training and oversight issues.[8][7]
In April 2022, the county reached a $9.5M settlement with the family which also requires improved use-of-force training.[1]
Video
The incident was recorded by the officers' body-worn cameras.[2]
Officers Involved
Official Reports
Additional Sources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Susan Greene, Kiowa County reaches $9.5 million settlement with family of unarmed man shot in back by sheriff’s deputies, Denver Post, 2022-04-19
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Susan Greene, What happened to Zach Gifford? A look at a traffic stop turned police shooting in a small Colorado town, Denver Post, 2021-03-18
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Susan Greene, Three Bullets to the Back: How a KCSO Traffic Stop Ended in the Fatal Shooting of Zach Gifford, Kiowa County Independent, 2021-03-11
- ↑ Update--Officer-Involved Shooting in Kiowa County, Colorado Bureau of Investigation, 2020-04-15
- ↑ Affidavit for Arrest Warrant Stump, Kiowa County Combined Court, 2021-01-12
- ↑ Betsy Barnett, QUINTEN STUMP ARRAINGMENT MOVES TO CONTINUATION SET FOR JULY 1, Kiowa County Independent, 2021-06-08
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Gifford v Weisenhorn, U.S. District Court, 2021-10-20
- ↑ Susan Greene, Fatal shooting lawsuit alleges culture of excessive force in Kiowa County, Denver Post, 2021-10-20
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