Fort Collins Pays $500K After Wrongful DUI Arrest

Jesse Cunningham used his medical training to help save lives at a Colorado motorcycle crash, but moments later found himself in handcuffs facing DUI charges he desperately tried to disprove.

The Nebraska father repeatedly asked Fort Collins officer Jason Haferman for a breath test during the July 2021 incident. Body camera footage shows Cunningham asking multiple times, confident it would clear him after he'd mentioned having two beers hours earlier while on vacation with his wife and daughters.

Instead, Haferman required roadside sobriety tests and arrested Cunningham anyway. Because his minor daughters were in the car, police also charged him with child abuse.

The arrest triggered a cascade of consequences. Cunningham lost a potential promotion at work. Child Protective Services investigated his family, interviewing his daughters and requiring him to submit to regular drug testing while criminal charges hung over his head.

Three months later, Colorado Bureau of Investigation blood tests revealed the truth. Cunningham had zero alcohol and zero drugs in his system. Prosecutors immediately dismissed all charges.

The Bright Side

Rather than simply moving on, Cunningham filed a federal lawsuit to stand up for what was right. This week, Fort Collins settled for $500,000, believed to be the largest wrongful DUI settlement ever recorded.

The settlement represents more than money for Cunningham, who served two combat tours in Iraq as a military police officer and now leads a nonprofit honoring first responders. It validates what he knew all along and sends a message about accountability.

The case also exposed broader problems. A CBS investigation found nine other DUI arrests by the same officer in a single year where lab tests showed zero alcohol or drugs. Officer Haferman resigned in 2022, one day before the police chief planned to fire him.

Cunningham says he'll never forget being treated like a criminal after trying to help. His daughters witnessed their father's arrest despite his innocence, an experience no settlement can erase.

But his decision to fight back has brought attention to wrongful arrest practices and may help prevent similar injustices. Sometimes standing up for yourself means standing up for everyone who comes after you.

Justice may have taken five years, but it finally arrived for a Good Samaritan who refused to back down.