A woman who alleged she and her daughter were assaulted outside a grocery store after complaining that an Aurora police officer called them a racial slur has filed a federal lawsuit.
Loree McCormick-Rice, 52, and her daughter, Cassidy, 13, claim police Sgt. Charles DeShazer, who was working off- duty security in uniform, hurled racial slurs at them during a June 17 dispute over a handicapped parking space. DeShazer is white; McCormick-Rice and her daughter are African-American.
The suit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Denver, names DeShazer and King Soopers as defendants along with Earnest Sands, a security guard for the grocery chain.
Last month, a city Internal Review Board found no wrongdoing or violation of policy by DeShazer, a veteran officer, over the way the incident, which was captured on video, was handled.
DeShazer, through his attorney, David Osborne, has denied using any racial slur toward the pair.
The lawsuit, however, alleges that De Shazer violated the plaintiffs’ First Amendment and Fourth Amendment rights when he “unlawfully seized and applied grossly excessive force against them” in retaliation to their complaint against the officer.
Police pursued criminal charges against the mother and daughter, but the city dropped the case.
The lawsuit alleges that DeShazer “jerked” Cassidy’s arm so hard that he broke the girl’s collarbone. The officer also choked the girl, who was 12 at the time, according to the lawsuit.
Sands, the King Soopers security guard, is accused of kicking Cassidy.
McCormick-Rice suffers from asthma and was parked in a handicapped spot at the grocery store near East Mississippi Avenue and South Chambers Road.
According to the lawsuit, DeShazer harassed McCormick-Rice for parking in the spot, even though she had a handicapped parking permit.
The suit, filed by attorney David Lane, seeks economic relief and punitive damages.
Staff writer Kieran Nicholson can be reached at 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
