Darren O’Connor, a former executive committee member of the NAACP Boulder County, is asking a federal judge to reject the City of Boulder’s motion to dismiss his lawsuit, which alleges city officials retaliated against him for publicly opposing the hiring of Police Chief Steve Redfearn.
In a court filing submitted June 30, O’Connor argues that Redfearn and City Manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde used their official positions to retaliate against him for exercising his First Amendment rights. He alleges they submitted complaints, made public statements and sought criminal charges in response to his criticism of Redfearn’s employment history and promotion. O’Connor’s lawsuit, filed April 29 in U.S. District Court, claims these actions were part of a broader effort to discredit him and suppress dissent.
In seeking to dismiss the lawsuit, the city sought to draw 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 shielding 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.”
O’Connor’s response argues his claims are based on retaliation and not coercion. He also said the city officials repeatedly used city titles, emails and platforms to take action against him in their official capacities.
The case is part of a broader 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 a captain with the Aurora Police Department. The criticism continued after he was appointed and played a role in O’Connor’s suspension by the national NAACP and the executive committee’s recent attempt to dissolve the local branch.
Separately, the national NAACP is suing O’Connor and other executive committee members over its dissolution.
Read more and follow our coverage of the ongoing disputes involving the NAACP Boulder County and city officials here.