The City of Boulder is asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Darren O’Connor, a civil rights attorney and former member of NAACP Boulder County, who alleges city officials retaliated against him for criticizing and opposing the appointment of Police Chief Steve Redfearn.
In a June 9 motion to dismiss, Luis Toro, a lawyer for the city, argued that O’Connor’s First Amendment claims should be tossed out because the actions described do not amount to unconstitutional retaliation or abuse of power.
O’Connor’s lawsuit, filed April 29 in U.S. District Court, centers on public statements by City Manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde and Redfearn, as well as city communications with local prosecutors, the national NAACP and a complaint with the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel, which oversees law licenses in Colorado. O’Connor alleges these actions were in retaliation for his constitutionally protected speech.
Background: Former NAACP Boulder County member sues the city, alleging free speech violations
In its motion, the city draws a legal distinction between a public official’s right to respond to criticism and the improper use of power to coerce or punish. The city attorney cited a 2024 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that shields government speech from First Amendment claims unless a plaintiff can show the conduct “could be reasonably understood to convey a threat of adverse government action in order to punish or suppress speech.”
The case highlights a broader public rift between Boulder officials and former members of the NAACP Boulder County executive committee. For more than a year, committee members, including O’Connor, publicly questioned Redfearn’s connection to the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man, during his time as captain with the Aurora Police Department. They cited it in their opposition to his appointment as Boulder police chief. The criticism continued after he was appointed. That ongoing criticism played a role in O’Connor’s suspension by the national NAACP and the executive committee’s recent attempt to dissolve the local branch.
At the time, Redfearn called in a critical incident team after officers forcibly arrested McClain, who died after paramedics injected him with ketamine. Redfearn also reclassified the initial call from “suspicious person” to “assault on a police officer” based on officers’ reports. The decision did not appear to affect the outcome of subsequent investigations, and Redfearn later testified for the prosecution in the criminal trial against officers. Even so, O’Connor and others have said his actions “reeked of a cover-up.”
Rivera-Vandermyde appointed Redfearn as police chief in September 2024. Both she and Redfearn have denied wrongdoing and said accusations about his role in McClain’s death misrepresent the facts.
Much of O’Connor’s lawsuit centers on the fallout from a private mediation last year between city officials and NAACP Boulder County members over Redfearn’s appointment. According to the city, the meeting was secretly recorded, and Annett James, former president of the NAACP Boulder County branch, threatened to release the recording if Redfearn were promoted to police chief, despite a signed confidentiality agreement. The mediation, by several accounts, grew heated and included personal attacks and accusations.
After the threat, Rivera-Vandermyde filed a complaint with the national NAACP accusing O’Connor and others of unethical conduct. Redfearn also contacted the state Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel, accusing O’Connor of professional misconduct. And a city attorney communicated with the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office about a potential breach of confidentiality.
In their motion to dismiss, city attorneys argued those actions do not meet the legal threshold for coercion or abuse of power.
“Nothing in [O’Connor’s complaint] suggests that either individual Defendant expressly or implicitly threatened to wield their power against the NAACP, the OARC, or the Boulder County District Attorney if they did not take action against the Plaintiff,” the city’s lawyer wrote.
O’Connor will have an opportunity to respond before a judge rules on the motion.