DENVER (AP) -- A federal appeals court has upheld dismissal of a complaint of excessive force against the Garfield County sheriff's department.
A three-judge panel of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed Tuesday with a lower court's finding that Adam Burke had not exhausted administrative options for pursuing his civil rights complaint before filing a lawsuit.
The judges, however, directed the lower court to clarify that Burke can raise the issue of federal civil rights violations again in another lawsuit.
Burke claimed that deputies used excessive force when he was an inmate in 2006. He said deputies pelted him with pepper balls and confined him to a restraint chair as punishment.
The appeals court said Burke's complaints were filed much later and contained inadequate information.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKXRM