Two U.S. Secret Service agents who arrested a Beaver Creek man for allegedly harassing former Vice President Dick Cheney in 2006 were denied immunity from a federal lawsuit by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday.
Steven Howards sued four Secret Service agents, claiming they engaged in a retaliatory arrest and violated his rights to free speech after he was arrested for harassing Cheney. Howards claims he simply walked up to Cheney at a shopping area, touched him and said he disagreed with his policies in Iraq.
But the 10th Circuit Court reversed a lower court ruling on Howards’ retaliatory-arrest claim as to all four agents. The higher court found that because Howards denied touching Cheney when he was first questioned, the agents had probable cause to arrest Howards for lying to federal agents.
The court also found that agents Adam Daniels and Daniel McLaughlin did not violate Howards’ free-speech rights because they were unaware of what he actually said to Cheney before the arrest.
However, agents Virgil D. Reichle and Dan Doyle are still parties to the suit because they did overhear Howards’ opinions about Cheney and the war.
“Mr. Howards has provided facts which suggest Agents Doyle and Reichle may have been substantially motivated by Mr. Howards’ speech when he was arrested,” the court’s opinion says. “Agent Doyle overheard Mr. Howards say into his cellphone, ‘I’m going to ask him how many kids he’s killed today.’ He admitted the comment ‘disturbed’ him.”
Felisa Cardona: 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com
