Fort Collins Coloradoan: A conservative group based in Washington, D.C., has filed a lawsuit against the city of Fort Collins and City Manager Darin Atteberry over the city withholding records about its police chief search.

Judicial Watch touts itself as a “watchdog group,” which “uses the open records or freedom of information laws and other tools to investigate and uncover misconduct by government officials and litigation to hold to account politicians and public officials who engage in corrupt activities,” according to its website.

The group first gained some notoriety in Fort Collins during the police chief recruitment process with a blog post alleging one of the Fort Collins police chief candidates was eliminated from a list of finalists because of statements he made about immigration.

City Manager Darin Atteberry called the claims “completely inaccurate.”

The city ultimately terminated its contract with the recruitment firm Andersen and Associates and restarted the police chief recruitment process with another company.

Atteberry did not immediately return a request for comment about the lawsuit, and the city attorney’s office declined to comment, as is its policy on pending litigation. Judicial Watch also did not immediately return a request for comment.

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