A 78-year-old woman who sued two police officers after her home was wrongly searched by a SWAT team looking for a stolen truck has won a $3.76 million jury verdict under a new Colorado law that allows people to sue police over violations of their state constitutional rights. The jury sided with Ruby Johnson, 78, and determined that Denver police Det. Gary Staab and Sgt. Gregory Buschy violated the state's constitution by hastily seeking, obtaining, and executing a search warrant on her home without probable cause or proper investigation. The warrant was issued based on information from Apple's “Find My” app, which the officers did not fully understand and for which they had no training.

The incident occurred on January 4, 2022, when Johnson, who had just gotten out of the shower, heard a command over a bullhorn for anyone inside to exit with their hands up. Wearing only a bathrobe, she opened her front door to see an armored personnel carrier parked on her front lawn, police vehicles along her street, and men in full military-style gear carrying rifles and a police dog. The SWAT team ransacked Johnson's home, breaking into her garage and attic, causing significant damage to her property.

The lawsuit alleged that Detective Gary Staab had wrongly obtained the warrant based on the inaccurate information provided by the “Find My” app, which only provides a general location where a phone could be, not an exact address. The jury awarded Johnson $1.26 million in compensatory damages and $2.5 million in punitive damages. The city of Denver will be responsible for paying the $3.76 million, while Staab and Buschy may have to pay up to $25,000 each if the city proves in a separate lawsuit that the officers acted in bad faith.

The lawsuit was brought under a provision of a police reform bill passed in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd, allowing individuals to sue police officers for state constitutional violations in state court. Johnson, who is Black, suffered psychological and emotional harm from the incident, leading her to temporarily forgo Christmas and birthday presents to afford moving to a different neighborhood for her safety. Denver police declined to comment on the verdict and stated that an internal affairs review of the incident resulted in no formal discipline for the officers involved. Staab and Buschy remain employed with the department.