The Denver City Council on Monday approved a $900,000 settlement in the death of Frank Lobato, an unarmed 64-year-old man fatally shot in bed by a police officer on July 11, 2004.
The Denver City Council acted without comment and in a bloc, essentially a 13-0 vote.
Councilwoman Judy Montero called on Luis Corchado, an assistant director of litigation in the city attorney’s office, to discuss the settlement. The shooting was in Montero’s council district in west Denver.
“This is a resolution to put a final ending to this long litigation,” Corchado said. “I feel that all the parties feel they have reached a middle ground.”
The settlement will go to the family’s attorney, Kenneth Padilla, and Lobato’s children: Francisco, Anthony, Barbara and Ramona.
Officer Ranjan Ford Jr. shot Lobato after police went to the apartment of Lobato’s nephew on a domestic-violence call. Officers climbed a ladder and entered the second floor of the apartment, where Lobato was in bed.
Ford said he believed Lobato bolted upright with a gun in his hand. But Lobato was unarmed. A soda can was found on the floor of his bedroom, which police said Lobato may have dropped after he was shot.
Christopher N. Osher: 303-954-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com
