DENVER — Denver City Council is considering moving $18.8 million from the city's general fund to pay for legal settlements, the second such transfer request this year.
Council Bill 26-1107 would move the funds into the City Attorney's Liability Claims Fund. The city has paid out more than $21 million in settlements, most of it tied to police misconduct during the George Floyd protests in 2020 under then-Chief Paul Pazen. Additional funds cover lawsuits against the Denver Department of Transportation, the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment, and Denver Parks and Recreation.
Councilwoman Shontel Lewis, who represents District 8, says the current system pulls money from the general fund, impacting city services, without holding the responsible departments accountable.
"It does not appear that the current system is functioning well. Agencies are not incentivized to limit their liability under the current system, in the sense that the funds used to settle cases are not drawn from specific agency budgets, and so instead, the cost is distributed across departments," Lewis said.
Lewis is calling for structural changes to prevent future settlements. She noted that since 2023 the council has approved five transfers that represent a significant sum.
"We have moved more than $34 million into the liability claims fund, to put that into perspective, that is more than the estimated amount it would take to fully fund the Temporary Rent and Utility Assistance Program in Denver," Lewis said.
► Watch Jessica Porter's report in the video below:
Civil rights attorney David Lane, whose firm has represented clients in George Floyd protest cases, says the city's approach to litigation is costing taxpayers more in the long run. Lane currently represents Azhaunte Forrest in a civil rights case against the Denver Police Department. A federal judge ruled Forrest had his rights violated during a traffic stop by Denver Police in May 2025 and threw out all evidence against him, forcing prosecutors to drop the case. Lane says the city attorney refused to settle the civil rights case against the officers.
"We are now racking up attorneys' fees in a slam dunk case, and the taxpayers are going to have to pay these attorneys' fees ultimately. I see this in the George Floyd protest cases. They (the city) didn't settle those cases, and they went to trial, and it is costing the taxpayers literally millions and millions and millions of dollars," Lane said.
Lane says the system does not hold the police department accountable or deter officer misconduct.
"The whole mission of Kilmer Lane as a law firm, is to make the government follow the Constitution, and you know I would like to see protest marches to the city and county building, where people are banging on doors saying, 'Why are you continuing to pay out of our tax Dollars, millions, to cover up police brutality,'" Lane said.
The city council held its second reading of the bill Monday but has not yet voted on it.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
