Wrongful deaths to false arrests: Northern Colorado cities pay cash to end allegations against...

In the past decade, Northern Colorado’s largest cities settled 205 allegations against police. The cost of those settlements was $50 million, roughly enough to fund a police department the size of Boulder’s for a year. That’s according to a KUNC investigation that found a recurring pattern where victims and their families dropped their allegations in exchange for a cash payout.

Legal experts said the pattern fosters a culture where police leaders and officers are able to sidestep accountability for the most egregious cases facing their departments.

“In many cities, the cost of litigation is simply written off as the cost of doing business and there aren't efforts to look into the allegations underlying civil suits,” said Joanna Schwartz, a professor of law at the University of California, Los Angeles, and national expert on settlements involving police.