May 23, 2026
On February 15, 2022, Cameron Dial called his father, Robert Dial, to confess that he’d just shot his two roommates, one of whom died from the attack. Cameron lived in Colorado while Robert resided in New Jersey, so the elder Dial reportedly told his son to call the police and then hired him a lawyer.
Three months later, with Cameron facing second degree murder charges, Robert flew to Colorado and was arrested at the airport by the same detective investigating his son’s case.
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“I think that was done to intimidate me,” Dial told CBS News. “I think they were trying to coerce me into talking with them about the case.”
The arrest — which the police and detective claimed was for allegedly tampering with evidence in Cameron’s case and being an accessory to murder — led to a years-long court battle that concluded this month with Robert winning a false arrest and malicious prosecution lawsuit against the detective who cuffed him. Beyond the victory, the $24 million awarded to Dial marked Colorado’s largest civil rights settlement ever.
How a false arrest turned into a $24 million settlement
The charges brought against Robert Dial were dropped, but his lawsuit contended that they ruined his career and reputation as an investment broker. In fact, Dial’s profile with FINRA (the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) still lists his criminal charges without noting they were dropped.
In 2024, he sued Shannon Brukbacher, the Parker, Colorado police detective who arrested him, alleging that she became annoyed that he’d hired a lawyer for Cameron. His suit claimed Brukbacher arrested Robert based on testimony from the surviving victim, who said she overheard Dial tell his son to hide the gun he used in the shooting. Not only was the witness not credible, but the gun was easily retrieved by police at the scene.
The jury ultimately sided with Dial and, according to the Denver Post, awarded him $22 million in financial damages and the remaining $2 million for pain and suffering.
Ed Hopkins, a Denver-based lawyer with the Civil Rights Litigation Group, told Moneywise that the settlement amount doesn’t surprise him given the facts of the case, including the nature of the grudge Brukbacher held against Robert for hiring a lawyer for Cameron, the “theatrical airport arrest” and the fact that it was predicated on evidence that was “contradicted by what officers actually saw.
“In Mr. Dial’s case, the arrest cost him his career in investment management,” Hopkins added. “That kind of permanent economic loss, layered on top of the loss of liberty and reputation, drives compensatory damages significantly.”
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A representative for the town of Parker, which is responsible for the $24 million payout, told Moneywise in a statement that while they “respect the judicial process,” they “believe the evidence presented in the case warranted a different outcome” and are “thoroughly reviewing the trial and verdict to evaluate all available options, including the potential for an appeal.”
Meanwhile, more than 460 other cases in which Brukbacher served as a witness are now reportedly under review.
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How to handle a false arrest
A false or wrongful arrest occurs when a person is arrested without probable cause or a valid warrant. And while there are no annual false arrest statistics for the U.S., a 2022 Washington Post investigation found that over the preceding decade, 25 major police departments across the country paid out more than $3 billion in settlement claims for misconduct. That includes almost $267 million in false arrest payouts in Chicago, more than $72 million in Los Angeles, $54 million in Washington D.C. and $51 million in Philadelphia.
False arrests can lead to significant harm to a person’s emotional and physical wellbeing, as well as their career, as it did for Robert Dial. A Northeastern University study released this year found that arrest records and initial criminal charges often remain publicly visible even when cases are dropped or never lead to convictions. The study warned that these “misleading records” can still “imply criminality and guilt” despite never resulting in a conviction.
Hopkins advised that those facing a false arrest should remain calm and invoke your right to remain silent. He said not to offer consent to search your person or property and to “preserve evidence as soon as you safely can” — including the names and badge numbers of the officers present, details of the time and location, medical records if applicable and any witness testimony.
He also said to avoid posting about your case on social media and, of course, hire a lawyer immediately. That’s because, he warned, different claims and individual local and state laws can carry varying deadlines, and a lawyer can ensure your case isn’t lost because you missed one of them.
“What happened in Robert Dial’s case is what is possible when the facts, the law, and the lawyering all come together,” he said. “None of that happens by accident.”
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Mike Crisolago is a Sr. Staff Reporter at Moneywise with nearly 20 years of experience working as a journalist, editor, content strategist and podcast host. He specializes in personal finance writing related to the 50-plus demographic and retirement, as well as politics and lifestyle content.
