Man shot by police gets part of claim dismissed

CHEYENNE - A federal judge earlier this month dismissed part of a claim filed by a local man who was shot by police in 2011.

The claim, filed in September, said Matthew Carabajal's Fourth Amendment protection from unreasonable seizures and excessive force protections were violated during the incident.

Carabajal's minor son, who was an infant in the car with him when shots were fired, also was named as a plaintiff.

The lawsuit names the city of Cheyenne and its police department as defendants along with officers Pat Johnson, Joshua Thornton, Matthew Colson and Michael Sutton in their individual capacities.

The defendants in October filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim.

U.S. District Judge Scott Skavdahl granted part of the defendants' motion on Dec. 15 and denied the rest.

The judge dismissed without prejudice Carabajal's claim against the city, an alternative claim alleging 14th Amendment violations and all claims filed on behalf of his son.

Dismissing the claims without prejudice means they could be refiled at a later date.

The defense had argued that the claim as it related to Carabajal's son should be dismissed because he was not injured or deprived of any constitutionally protected right.

Carabajal's response to the motion to dismiss, filed last month, noted the alternative 14th Amendment claim, which was dismissed, was included in the lawsuit "for precautionary purposes only ... in case, for some reason, the court dismisses plaintiffs' Fourth Amendment claims."

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Man shot by police gets part of claim dismissed