Colorado Politics: The Denver Post and 9News did not engage in libel when they published certain inaccurate details about the trial of a man who had a 2016 shootout with Lakewood police, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled on Wednesday.

“The truth is a reporter’s best defense against a libel suit, and the news organizations in this case had the truth on their side,” said Jeffrey A. Roberts, executive director of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, after the court’s decision. “Journalists are permitted to freely report from public documents if they cite the source and fairly and accurately portray the information from the documents.”

A jury in Jefferson County found Eric St. George guilty on nine counts of attempted murder, assault and unlawful sexual contact, among other charges. According to court documents, an exotic dancer whom St. George had hired to dance at his home walked out after he got physical with her. St. George followed her with a shotgun and engaged in a shootout with responding police. He received a 32-year prison sentence.

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