Lawsuit filed in 2022 shooting case in downtown Manitou

On April 9, 2024, the Denver-based Civil Rights Litigation Group filed a lawsuit against Manitou Springs Police Officers Levi Hoover and Jeffrey Schuelke, along with El Paso County Sheriff’s Deputies Ronnie Hancock and Daniel LeBaron, for their roles in the fatal shooting of Wilford Deweese on April 11, 2022. 

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Deweese’s estate and family members, claims that the officers’ excessive use of force, including deploying K9 Jinx, unnecessarily led to Deweese’s death in downtown Manitou.

Over the next few weeks, the Bulletin will publish Jon Huang’s investigative piece on that night’s events, based on police and private investigation records, to educate the public on the issues surrounding the case.

As the Bulletin published in its Aug. 11, 2022, issue, Colorado’s 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office reviewed the shooting and cleared law enforcement of any culpability in Deweese’s death.

On a related note, Gov. Jared Polis signed HB25-1074 on April 17, creating stricter punishments for harming or killing law enforcement animals. It has been changed to a Class 4 felony, with a mandatory minimum fine of $2,000, plus costs to rehabilitate or replace the animal, which includes horses.

It’s being called “Jinx’s Law,” after the K9 Deweese killed. Hancock, Jinx’s handler, was one of the people advocating for stronger penalties.