A Denver police officer’s decision to hold down a handcuffed suspect by driving his knee into the man’s neck led to a disagreement between the department and the independent monitor on how the officer should be disciplined.
The case also provides some insight into how police officers in the city’s District 6 used their body cameras during a six-month pilot project. Portions of the incident were filmed by body cameras worn by three of the seven officers at the scene.
Officer Chad Sinnema served his four-day suspension this week after an internal affairs investigation determined he used inappropriate force against a handcuffed suspect who had tried to kick him, according to a disciplinary letter issued by the department.
Video footage shows Sinnema kneeling for about 2½ minutes with his knee on the suspect’s neck while the man is lying face down in a dirt-filled planter, according to a five-minute video provided to The Denver Post by the Denver Department of Safety.
VIDEO: See video footage from the officer’s body camera.
As Sinnema and the other officers prepare to let the man up, the suspect tells them that he cannot breathe.
“You want to put your foot back on my neck. I’m trying to breathe,” the man said.
Sinnema responds by yelling, “Start acting like a man!”
Inappropriate force typically merits punishment ranging from a 10-day suspension to termination. However, the Department of Safety decided the punishment should be reduced because the suspect, who was the aggressor, was able to breathe, spoke throughout the incident and was not injured. The letter also noted that Sinnema did not have a significant disciplinary record and acknowledged that his actions had been inappropriate.
Sinnema, who was hired in 2008, declined to comment when contacted by The Post.
However, Independent Monitor Nick Mitchell disagreed with the decision to lower Sinnema’s penalty. Restraining a suspect by putting pressure on the neck carries a risk of injury or death, and it is against the department’s policy.
Earlier this month, Officer James Medina was fired for using his knee on a woman’s neck to pin her inside a holding cell. In footage from that incident, the woman appears to pass out.
VIDEO: See the video involving Officer James Medina.
Mitchell wrote about the Sinnema case in his 2014 annual report, which was released earlier this week.
While video footage shows Sinnema’s knee on the man’s neck, the officer originally told investigators that he had his knee on the suspect’s upper shoulders and had held the suspect’s head with his hand.
The video depicts it differently, the monitor’s letter said.
Already, the monitor’s report has stirred controversy after he determined that only one in four use-of-force incidents were recorded during the pilot program in District 6.
The department sees it differently. Its preliminary report shows body cameras capturing some footage associated with 45 of 53 reported use-of-force incidents.
The monitor reported that many use-of-force incidents were not recorded because officers did not turn on their cameras, technical malfunctions happened and too many officers who work in the district were left out of the pilot program. He also said he did not count footage recorded at a scene unless it captured the actual punch, electric shock or other use of force.
But the case involving Sinnema supports Mitchell’s assertion that body cameras used in the pilot project often missed opportunities to record as much as possible at use-of-force scenes.
On that day, seven officers responded to a disturbance on the 16th Street Mall. Only three recorded the incident with a body camera.
One officer was a sergeant, who had not been issued a camera. Two officers indicated they incorrectly thought their cameras were on. And another said his camera was not working, according to the monitor’s report.
Commander Matt Murray, the police department’s chief of staff, said the department conducted the pilot program so it could find out when errors were made.
“Certainly, all officers in that case should have turned them on,” Murray said.
He added, “The pilot has highlighted areas we can improve and that’s why we did the pilot.”
But he said the case also illustrated how body cameras benefit officers and the public.
“This gives people a clean look,” he said.
Mitchell’s report offered nine recommendations for the department to consider as it moves toward outfitting 800 of its more than 1,400 officers with cameras.
Noelle Phillips: 303-954-1661, nphillips@denverpost.com or twitter.com/Noelle_Phillips
