FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Five people are suing Fort Collins Police Services after one of its officers resigned last year following an internal investigation that found in at least nine instances, no alcohol or drugs were found in blood tests for people that he had arrested on suspicion of DUI.
Five separate lawsuits were filed Wednesday in Larimer County District Court against former Officer Jason Haferman, a sergeant who was his supervisor, the City of Fort Collins and an unnamed corporal.
The attorney for the five plaintiff's said all of the individuals had their cases dismissed either by breathalyzer or blood tests.
One of the plaintiffs was charged with DUI and child abuse because he was driving with a child at the time he was arrested by Haferman. The attorney representing the five plaintiffs said in a release there are at least 17 victims.
The lawsuits claims that Haferman did not do roadside sobriety tests properly and "regularly" interpreted "normal" behaviors as clues of impairment.
"To be pulled over for a simple traffic violation has never been a big deal and now it’s a terrifying experience that I have a whole new appreciation for what the abuse of power can look like," said Harris Elias, who is one of the drivers that filed a lawsuit. "The level of dishonesty, corruption and vile behavior from that officer, defies words."
The suit also claims that Haferman racked up more DUI arrests in one year than anyone else in his department's history and that his large number of arrests should have been a red flag for his superiors.
According to the lawsuits, during 2021, Haferman was regularly muting and deactivating his body-worn camera during his citizen contacts and arrests, which is a violation of the law.
"It was not just a DUI arrest. It was a string of events that caused lasting trauma with my family," said Jesse Cunningham, another driver who had filed a suit.
Cunningham was on vacation with his family in 2021 when he witnessed a car crash, pulled over to help and found himself in front of Haferman. He had admitted to drinking two light beers nearly four hours prior to witnessing the crash. Blood tests provided by his attorney showed he was clean.
"It takes away that sense of security you know how you feel about the people protecting your community," Cunningham added. "At minimum, if there’s officers who need to have further training if there’s corrective action that needs to be taken to remove them from a position in they’re abusing their authority, then it needs to be done."
In early March 2022, Larimer County District Court Judge Sarah Cure found that Haferman lacked credibility in his testimony regarding his contact and arrest of a person who is not among the plaintiffs in this case.
That person was later acquitted and a court transcript indicates that Cure found Haferman's testimony was "inconsistent" and that some of his testimony was "contrary to the evidence."
The lawsuits seek economic damages and lost wages related to the DUI arrests. It also asks for formal apologies from the department, policy changes and additional training for officers.
"What everyone is mostly interested in is ensuring that this does not happen to anybody else again and that means top down change," said Sarah Schielke, an attorney representing the five plaintiffs. "I am not going to stop fighting until these people are removed and replaced with people who respect our rights."
FCPS said last December that its internal investigation revealed at least nine DUI cases involving Haferman in less than a year with blood tests that came back with no alcohol or drugs present.
Haferman moved from DUI enforcement to the patrol division in May 2022. In early September, he was reassigned to an administrative role with no involvement in casework.
In October, he was placed on administrative leave pending the results of the internal affairs investigation, but Haferman eventually resigned.
Haferman remains POST certified, meaning he is eligible for employment as in law enforcement in Colorado, but he is currently not employed by any agency in the state, according to the POST database.
A spokeswoman for FCPS said they had not yet seen the lawsuits and therefore could not comment.
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