A 69-year-old man slowly suffocated to death in a rural Colorado jail after his ribs were broken during an altercation with a deputy and he languished in a cell for a week without medical care, according to a lawsuit announced by the man’s family Thursday.
The 2023 death of Michael Burch was ruled a homicide. Following a state investigation, prosecutors decided not to bring criminal charges against the deputy who used a Taser on Burch and wrestled with him in a Huerfano County jail cell. District Attorney Henry Solano noted there was “sufficient information” that the deputy could say he acted in self-defense.
