DENVER — A Denver man filed a lawsuit against the Denver Police Department on Monday, alleging unlawful search and seizure — and a federal judge's ruling backs his claim.
Court records show that on May 13, 2025, Denver Police Officers Emmett Hurd and Matthew Mullen pulled over Azhaunte Forrest for allegedly failing to stop at stop signs on Colfax Avenue, and for defective brake lights. During a search of the vehicle, officers uncovered an illegal weapon. Forrest, who is a felon, was charged.
On January 20, 2026, U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado Judge Nina Wang found the officers did not have a lawful reason for the traffic stop or the search. Wang threw out all evidence and statements resulting from the traffic stop, forcing prosecutors to dismiss the case.
Wang said there are no stop signs along that route, writing that:
"The credibility of Officer Hurd's verbal statement to Mr. Forrest about the stop sign violations is substantially undermined by the fact that the officers elected not to address stop signs in their reports as a basis for the traffic stop."
Wang also wrote that "the body-worn camera footage unequivocally depicts a bright red light on the rear of his car," proving Forrest had at least one working brake light as required by law.
Forrest's attorney, David Lane, said his client served several months in jail, lost his job, and lost his apartment before the case was thrown out.
Denver7 asked Lane what restitution he and his client are seeking.
"Whatever a Denver jury believes to be fair and equitable in enforcing the Constitution. We're not asking for any specific amount of money. It's just accountability. We want the public to see what's going on with their police department, and that taxpayers ultimately are going to have to pay something for their police department violating the Constitution," Lane said.
Lane said he believes the stop was racially motivated.
"What I believe happened is that he was pulled over because he's a young African American man driving while Black on Colfax. Rarely does this ever happen in Cherry Hills Village, but it happens a lot on Colfax with the Denver Police Department," Lane said.
Denver police did not respond to a request for comment.
According to Lane, both officers remain employed at the police department.
The lawsuit comes as the city's independent monitor has been sounding the alarm that her office is being sidelined by DPD on matters of officer accountability. The department also recently shifted to Education-Based Development for officers who commit low-level infractions rather than traditional investigations and penalties.
In May 2024, DPD changed its policy to shift away from conducting low-level traffic stops to prioritize bigger threats to public safety.
