A woman who sued a Denver police officer and accused him of sexually assaulting her asked a federal judge to force the city to produce investigative documents about the incident and similar cases alleged against other police officers since 1990.
The hearing was held Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen Tafoya, who closed the courtroom to the public so that attorneys for the city could speak freely about the documents, some of which are sealed records.
The incident between the woman and Officer Rodney Clark occurred July 16, 2005, at Denver International Airport, where the woman was working as a Transportation Security Administration screener.
Clark was on duty.
The woman claims Clark forced her into his car and assaulted her.
Clark was charged by the Denver district attorney with unlawful sexual contact but was acquitted by a jury.
Clark asked the judge presiding over his case to seal the records, and the request was granted.
Federal court records show that the complaint the woman made against Clark was sustained by internal affairs investigators who found Clark was “departing from the truth.”
Clark’s attorney, Michael Lowe, said the woman’s attorney, Kenneth A. Padilla, was accusing the city’s attorneys of trying to do something improper by withholding Clark’s internal affairs file and investigative records.
“He says we are doing this in secret or somehow underhanded, but that is simply not the case,” Lowe said in court before Tafoya closed the proceedings. “We sealed those files at the request of the defendant.”
Padilla wants the internal affairs file that includes statements Clark made and statements the woman and other witnesses made about the incident in order to proceed with the federal lawsuit.
“This is just a simple case of complete unfairness,” Padilla said in court.
Felisa Cardona: 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com
