Denver paid $1.5 million to outside law firms in Booker, Hunter cases
Denver paid nearly $1.5 million last year to eight law firms to defend the city, the Denver Sheriff Department and seven deputies in two jail abuse lawsuits.
The money spent on the independent law firms pushes the total cost of the Jamal Hunter and Marvin Booker cases past $12 million, according to legal invoices obtained by The Denver Post.
That’s enough to hire 112 new deputies at the department’s base salary with benefits and send them through the sheriff’s department’s training academy.
“I hear numbers like that, and I hope I look like I just sat on a cactus,” said Denver City Councilman Charlie Brown. “That’s why we’ve somehow got to get a handle on this issue.”