Overview
- U.S. District Judge Gordon P. Gallagher ruled on March 25 that former East High dean Eric Sinclair’s 14th Amendment “state‑created danger” claim against Denver Public Schools can move into evidence gathering.
- The judge wrote that DPS “appears to have exhibited a shocking disregard” for risk and said the district “knowingly opened the door” to gun violence, citing policy choices like pulling police officers from campuses.
- Court filings say the shooter had been expelled from Overland High after police found an AR‑15, magazines, ammunition, spent shells, and a silencer at home, yet East High relied on daily check‑ins that later became backpack searches.
- A student reported what looked like a gun on March 2, 2023, and Sinclair says he was not told about the safety plan or the teen’s weapons history before he tried to search him during the March 22 encounter that ended in gunfire.
- Gallagher dismissed claims against the school board and the assistant principal and threw out a state claim under the Claire Davis Act due to workers’ compensation rules, while DPS said the court must assume the allegations for now and vowed to present its evidence next.