Colorado Politics: A federal judge ruled last month that a jury will evaluate whether a Denver police officer violated a man’s First Amendment rights by knocking his cell phone onto the ground in retaliation for video recording.

Brian Loma was recording the city’s operation to dismantle a homeless encampment in November 2020 when he began yelling at the police officers present to identify themselves. When he got close to Sgt. Jeffery Berger to record his nametag, Berger hit Loma’s cell phone, sending it onto the ground.

Loma sued Berger for allegedly retaliating against his constitutionally protected activity. Berger countered that he merely sought to create distance between himself and Loma, not to intentionally stop him from filming.

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