Two innocent Black men who spent weeks in jail on false attempted murder charges were denied justice after an appellate court ruled that Denver police had qualified immunity when using nothing more than “ambiguous surveillance video” to arrest them for shooting into a crowd back in 2021. But Trevor Puller and DeAndre Hutchinson were the actual victims in that shooting, and were trying to drive away after an unidentified person in the crowd fired at them and “multiple bullets hit the car,” according to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, which published its opinion on April 24. Trevon Puller, left, and DeAndre Hutchinson, who spent weeks in jail on attempted murder charges when they were the victims of the shooting, were once again denied justice after an appellate court ruled the cops had qualified immunity to arrest them on “ambiguous video” evidence. (Photo: facebook.com/trevon.puller and facebook.com/deandre.hutchinson.35) One of those rounds even struck an innocent bystander standing behind their car when the shooting started, making it impossible for him to have been shot by Hutchinson, who was riding in the passenger seat while Puller was driving. But Denver police officers Nicholas Greco and Nicodemus Werth based their evidence on the city’s HALO video surveillance system, a city-wide, police-run operation that monitors “high-crime” areas in real time – but has proven to be another example of police using modern technology to prey on innocent Black people, as Atlanta Black Star has reported many times. ‘We Never Believed He Left’: New Jersey Mechanic Returns to Family’s Home with Shotgun and Fires Into Doorway, Killing Innocent Teenager After He Was Fired and Then Blocked The video, which has been shown in court but not released to the public, shows Hutchinson was “leaning out of the passenger window” but was also described by judges as “ambiguous” – meaning it does not clearly show him shooting or even holding a gun. It does, however, show a man in the crowd lifting his arm toward the car as if shooting at them. And while it shows people in the crowd falling, not a single person in the crowd was struck by gunfire. The HALO video shows Mr. Puller’s car making the turn on 19th Street and pulling over to the curb, toward a group of people on the sidewalk.  Someone leans out the window of the passenger seat, and a person on the sidewalk lifts his arm toward the car. Others move away from the car, ducking, and at least two people stumble or fall to the ground.  The car accelerates quickly and turns into the alley. A few people stop to help a person on the ground to his feet, and the people on the sidewalk leave the scene. But the appellate judges also determined that ambiguous video is enough to give the cops “arguable probable cause” to make an arrest because there is no “clearly established” law that forbids it.  And because of that, the two men have no right to sue for damages despite being victims from the get-go. The ruling will also make it more difficult for future victims of ambiguous video surveillance to sue for damages.  Plaintiffs have not identified authority clearly establishing that Defendants lacked arguable probable cause when they relied on an ambiguous video potentially inculpating Plaintiffs in a crime, even though Defendants’ interpretation was mistaken and the video ultimately did not support prosecution. Accordingly, the district court did not err in determining Defendants were entitled to qualified immunity.  ‘You Shouldn’t Say It’: Virginia Crazy Crab Employee Fired After Writing Racist Slur on Receipt –– Now the Customer Wants Her Money Back The decision makes it nearly impossible for the men to continue seeking justice for having been wrongly incarcerated on 19 attempted murder charges which could have sent them to prison for life. ‘Multiple Bullets Hit the Car’ The incident took place around 2 a.m. on April 4, 2021, in downtown Denver. The two Black men who were in their 20s drove by the crowd with Hutchinson leaning out the passenger window. “Within seconds an unidentified Black male pulled out a pistol and shot at Plaintiffs,” the appellate ruling states.  “Multiple bullets hit the car. Mr. Puller accelerated and quickly turned into an alley intersecting 19th Street between Blake Street and Market Street.” Denver police who were in the area pulled their car over and they immediately stopped. “I didn’t do it, they were shooting over there!” Puller said as he stepped out of the car with his arms in the air.  The bystander who had been shot but survived told police he did not see who had shot him. A loaded gun was found in the car but it had not been fired. Other evidence exonerated the men as well but the cops hid that from the district attorney’s office. Police collected shell casings from the scene, but there was no evidence those casings were connected to Plaintiffs. And at the end of April, the police received reports showing neither Plaintiff had gunshot residue on their hands when they were arrested. Officer Greco did not disclose this exculpatory evidence to the Denver District Attorney’s Office, even though both he and Officer Werth knew Plaintiffs were being offered plea deals for 39 years to life in prison. There were also no gunshot victims in the crowd where Hutchinson supposedly shot into, nor any other evidence that a gun had been fired in that direction. The evidence shows the bullets were flying in the opposite direction, leaving bullet holes in the car and striking the bystander behind the car who was not part of the crowd. But despite the contradictory evidence, Denver police relied on its multimillion-dollar surveillance project that produces ambiguous evidence to destroy the lives of two Black men who were being shot at by a man who has never been arrested or identified.  It was only after their attorneys presented the HALO video in court that the district attorney’s office realized it had no case and dismissed the 19 attempted murder charges against each man. But by then, Hutchinson had spent 45 days in jail, and Puller 110 days before their cases were dismissed. Believing they had a solid case, the men filed a federal lawsuit in 2023 but that was dismissed the following year after the lower court ruled the cops had qualified immunity. The men appealed and were once again denied justice at the appellate level. The ruling basically states that any “reasonable” cop would have confused them for the shooters based on the ambiguous videos. But it makes no mention of how a reasonable cop would also use existing evidence like the bullet holes in the car and the lack of gun residue on Hutchinson’s fingers and the lack of victims in the crowd – not to mention the shooting victim standing behind their car – to counter the evidence that was ambiguous at best.  “In Plaintiffs’ view, the HALO video confirms they were victims — not perpetrators — of a shooting,” the ruling states.  “But a reasonable viewer could perceive the HALO video as showing a person or persons in Plaintiffs’ car committing a drive-by shooting, targeting the people on the sidewalk.” ‘I Didn’t Do It!’: Two Innocent Black Men Jailed for Weeks on Attempted Murder Charges Lose Lawsuit Appeal Despite Physical Evidence Showing They Were Victims of Shooting ...read more read less