Colorado sheriff wins $1.3 million in lawsuit against his own county
ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. — The current Adams County Sheriff sued the county and the former sheriff, and a jury awarded him and his peers more than $5 million, his attorney said.
Current Sheriff Gene Claps was awarded more than $1.3 million of the more than $5 million issued to former high ranking members of the sheriff’s office, his attorney Iris Halpern told 9NEWS.
Claps, along with former chief Timothy James Coates, former captain Mark Mitchell and former commander Kevin Currier, filed a lawsuit in 2020 against the Adams County Sheriff’s Office and then-Sheriff Rick Reigenborn.
In the lawsuit, the four said they were pressured to resign or be fired for supporting Reigenborn’s opponent in the 2018 election.
“[Reigenborn] terminated all of these individuals simply because they were supporting a different candidate,” Halpern said Tuesday at a news conference.
The lawsuit alleges Reigenborn pressured the men to resign or be fired after they donated more than $6,600 to Republican candidate Michael McIntosh in 2018, placed yard signs in support of McIntosh on their lawns, and hosted fundraisers for him.
Three of the four men are back with the Adams County Sheriff’s Office. Coates is the only plaintiff who’s no longer working with the office.
“I had many good years left to serve and protect, and quite a bit of knowledge,” Coates said.
He said he was forced to resign in retaliation and lost out on part of his career. Now 64, he believes he’s mentally capable, but not physically able, to get back into policing.
“Far beyond cheated,” Coates said of how he feels. “I lost who I was. I served Adams County for a long time, and I appreciate the citizens of Adams County. But it was taken from me.”
Claps, a Democrat like Reigenborn, won the sheriff election in 2022.
The lawsuit was filed in 2020. He’d been fired, elected, and served as sheriff for two years by the time the jury heard their case.
Still, he said what happened with Reigenborn did not lead him to run.
“This is a separate issue that we’re facing with the violation of our constitutional rights, and running for sheriff was all about putting safer communities and stronger leadership back into our community, which we all deserve,” he said.
Reigenborn declined to comment on the verdict. He’s since pleaded guilty to felony forgery for faking training records.
After Reigenborn’s conviction, and now the more than $5 million verdict, 9NEWS asked fellow plaintiff Mark Mitchell about the former sheriff’s legacy now.
“I think I should keep that to myself,” Mitchell said.