Aurora – A property manager who was repeatedly beaten by serial rapist Brent J. Brents is seeking $2.5 million from the city of Aurora and the 18th Judicial District, alleging they could have prevented her February ordeal by arresting Brents in a timely manner in a previous case.
Tiffany Engle, 33, on Friday filed a notice to the city that she plans to sue, claiming her state and civil rights were violated. She is the first among Brents’ 14 victims to file such a notice.
“It’s not unexpected,” said Aurora City Attorney Charlie Richardson, who added that his office has been in contact with attorneys from at least three other victims.
“We are expecting some or all of the claimants to file. … We have our work cut out for us,” Rich ardson said
Brents pleaded guilty to assaulting women and children in Denver and Arapahoe counties between November and February. He was sentenced a month ago to 1,500 years in prison for those crimes.
He had admitted to police in November that he inappropriately touched a boy, but a bureaucratic mixup meant a warrant wasn’t issued until the end of January.
Neither Engle nor her attorney could be reached for comment Monday.
Eighteenth Judicial District Attorney Carol Chambers said in e-mails sent in April to Aurora officials that Brents’ victims deserve compensation. In the message she says she would be “happy to cooperate” in any victim’s lawsuit.
“I have additional information and would be glad to share it,” she wrote.
Chambers didn’t return phone calls on Monday.
Richardson said “the district attorney is certainly entitled to offer monetary compensation on behalf of her organization. The city is not ready to do so at this time.”
Engle was the manager of a Capitol Hill apartment house who on Feb. 18 “inadvertently walked in on (Brents) while he was raping another woman,” according to the claim.
Brents threatened Engle at knifepoint and choked her until she passed out. He then bashed her head repeatedly with a two-by-four before taking her car and cellphone. He was later caught in Glenwood Springs.
Engle underwent brain surgery and has been permanently disfigured, according to the claim that blames improper police training, the police department and the district attorney’s office for failing to arrest Brents before Engle’s attack.
Engle’s claim says police should have arrested Brents after he admitted in a Nov. 23 police interview that he inappropriately touched an 8-year-old Aurora boy.
Because of miscommunication between the police department and the district attorney’s office, an arrest warrant wasn’t signed until Jan. 26.
“Several days after this warrant was issued, Brents went on the rampage in Denver and raped and violently assaulted several women and children,” the claim says.
Letting Brents go was “done heedlessly and recklessly, without regard to the consequences or of the rights and safety of others.”
Richardson said: “There is no doubt that the victims of Brent Brents’ physical and sexual assaults have suffered. Whether the city and the police officers involved are monetarily liable will need to be determined.”
Under state law, a government entity can be liable for only $150,000 per claim or $600,000 per entire occurrence. But plaintiffs have rights under federal civil-rights laws which are not limited by governmental immunity.
Engle’s claim names Officer Del Matticks and Detective Vanessa Wilson. It also names former Police Chief Ricky Bennett, Aurora Mayor Ed Tauer, City Manager Ron Miller, Deputy City Manager Frank Ragan and former District Attorney Jim Peters.
In March, Aurora City Council suspended both Miller and Ragan for two weeks without pay because of the Brents debacle, and Bennett stepped down as chief to take a job as captain within the department. The city is searching for a new chief.
The district attorney’s office also made internal changes in how it communicates with the police department and streamlined getting arrest warrants signed as a result of the Brents case.
Staff writer Jeremy Meyer can be reached at 303-820-1175 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com.
