Tyler Sanchez (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)
Re: “Ruling clears way for false arrest lawsuit against Douglas County,” Jan. 13 news story.
While people with disabilities are certainly capable of committing crimes, I was glad to read that Tyler Sanchez, an individual with IQ scores within the range of intellectual disability, will be able to sue Douglas County and five detectives for a false arrest in a rape case in 2009.
Sanchez, who was 18, was questioned over a 17-hour period and was forced to confess to trespassing but did not confess to the sexual assault of an 8-year-old girl during a burglary a week earlier. DNA evidence found in the girl’s underwear was not his and he did not match the description provided by the victim. He was charged with the crimes even though — as Sanchez’s attorneys claim — the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department knew his confession was untrue. (The district attorney dismissed the case in 2012.)
Sadly, forced confessions of suspects with intellectual disabilities are all too well documented and have even led to the death penalty being imposed on some suspects.
It is not enough that Sanchez could receive a settlement for damages. Instead, more training of law enforcement is needed in recognizing the rights of suspects with an intellectual disability, as well as penalties for investigators who obtain coerced confessions from such suspects.
Michael Rose, Denver
This letter was published in the Jan. 16 edition.
