COLORADO SPRINGS – Shots rang out just after 11:30 a.m. on November 27th, 2015 and when it was all over, three people were dead and nine others were injured in a standoff at the Planned Parenthood office near Centennial Blvd. and Fillmore Street. The entire incident went on for five hours before a SWAT vehicle was sent into the lobby, forcing the gunman, Robert Dear, to surrender. UCCS Police officer Garrett Swasey, Ke-Arre Stewart, and Jennifer Markovsky were killed in the attack.
Originally, the Colorado Supreme Court refused to hear the case, but now, the Court is allowing a lawsuit against planned parenthood to move forward after deciding the Colorado Springs clinic should have done more to prevent the deadly shooting.
The announcement came Monday, and it allows victims of the shooting to pursue their suit against the national Planned Parenthood organization as well as the group that runs the local clinic. The 4-3 majority held that a reasonable juror might find that planned parenthood was more responsible than the gunman, Robert Dear, because they didn’t do more to protect the clinic or its patients.
Meanwhile, Robert Dear has been judged mentally incompetent to stand trial since May 2016, which has caused a delay in the state’s case against him. Last December, U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn, decided to pursue a federal case against Dear, in an effort to beat a five-year statute of limitations on many of the federal charges that Dear faces. 61-year old Dear is charged with three counts of using a firearm during a crime resulting in death, as well as 65 counts of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. He could face the death penalty or life in prison if convicted.
