In the past 18 months, Denver sheriff’s deputies have found themselves in trouble for all sorts of violations, ranging from the serious to the absurd, a Denver Post review of disciplinary letters issued since Jan. 1, 2013, shows.
Cases include a deputy who watched YouTube videos on her computer with jail inmates, one who abandoned her post because she wanted to leave early and two deputies who accidentally fired a bullet into the floor of an office at Denver Health Medical Center.
There was a deputy who kicked a basketball into an inmate’s head, a deputy who lost a gun in a McDonald’s bathroom and two employees who got mad during a cupcake fight at the office.
Because of deputy misconduct, inmates — and those who guard them — have had their safety jeopardized as officers failed to monitor the mentally ill, failed to properly escort violent prisoners or left unit doors wide open.
In one case, Deputy Bruce Mitchell was eating corn flakes and searching for auto parts on Craigslist in October 2012 when he mistakenly let inmate Elvie Bellamy walk out the door. Bellamy was supposed to be released to the Colorado State Patrol, according to the disciplinary letter.
When Mitchell realized his error, he left the jail in his own Toyota 4-Runner and began searching for Bellamy along West Colfax Avenue. He brought a person back to jail. But it was not Bellamy, a career criminal who was captured the next day.
Mitchell was suspended for 28 days. It wasn’t immediately clear whether he — as deputies often do — appealed his punishment. Those appeals frequently take months.
Although the sheriff’s department has been in the news lately for a string of cases involving deputies using excessive force, the documents from 2013 and 2014 included only four such cases.
But sheriff’s officials have said they are reviewing 47 cases, including allegations of excessive force, sexual harassment and other complaints that were not investigated previously.
Deputies also have done things outside of work that led to on-the-job discipline, including starting fights and stepping outside their authority to investigate criminal cases.
The Denver Safety Department this year has issued 18 disciplinary letters to 17 deputies. Those cases resulted in two deputies being fired, 13 suspensions and three reprimands.
In 2013, the department issued 27 disciplinary letters, firing two, suspending 23, reprimanding one and disqualifying one.
Those who were punished for wrongdoing ranged in rank from young deputies to acting Maj. Phazaria Koonce, who was reprimanded in 2013 for a management style so harsh that employees said they were getting physically sick.
Allen Beck, a Kansas City-based corrections consultant, said it appears the Denver Sheriff Department has deep-rooted issues within its organizational culture.
It starts with supervisors, who make it clear that rules must be followed, Beck said.
“They’ve got to have supervisors who frequently come out and check what’s happening,” Beck said. “When you catch it, you need to stop it quickly.”
Sheriff Elias Diggins, who was appointed last month to run the troubled department, said he has made it clear that lax behavior is unacceptable.
“No act of unprofessionalism and no violation of policy and procedure is tolerated,” Diggins told The Post on Tuesday. “The troops know, as a no-nonsense leader, that’s not something I expect or something I look upon lightly.”
The disciplinary letters also illustrate how long it takes for a deputy to be punished for wrongdoing.
Deputy Deanna Gordon, who was accused of multiple violations in October 2012, was not fired until February 2014.
She had a pattern of repeated and defiant behavior throughout her career, her letter said.
Gordon finally was dismissed after an investigation found multiple violations, including inmates taking cigarettes from her purse, watching music videos on her computer with her and eating sandwiches she had brought them.
Gordon also failed to make the required number of rounds in her pod, did not enforce the inmate dress code, did not lock the janitorial closet and dimmed lights during the day, the letter said.
In her defense, Gordon told investigators that she suffered from “correctional fatigue” after working 12-hour shifts.
“I know that’s not an excuse but I had every one of those symptoms on top of physical symptoms,” Gordon is quoted as saying in her letter.
The public has developed a keen interest in deputies’ actions, especially after the City Council approved a $3.25 million settlement with former inmate Jamal Hunter, who was beaten by fellow inmates and choked by a guard.
But that’s not the only case that has cost the city money.
One case found by The Post’s review cost the city nearly $20,000 in a civil rights settlement after a deputy serving court papers talked a maintenance man into unlocking the door of an apartment.
That constituted an unlawful search, something the Fourth Amendment prohibits.
In an interview with investigators, Deputy Frank Quijas said he did not know what rights were guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment.
Other cases that resulted in deputy discipline include:
• Deputy Monwell Fuller had a history of altercations with inmate Reid Cary-Sadler and was accused in February 2012 of intentionally bumping the inmate while they were walking in a hallway.
When Cary-Sadler gestured toward Fuller, Fuller grabbed the inmate’s neck and pushed him into a wall.
• Deputy Elicia Martinez wanted to use flex time to leave six hours early Aug. 23, 2013.
After waiting a minute and a half for her replacement, Martinez left. She did not log off her computer or close two doors to her pod, the disciplinary letter said.
• Deputy Christopher Janowski was kicking a basketball around a court in March 2012 to get his “blood pumping” when he booted a ball that struck inmate James Crumb in the head, according to his disciplinary letter.
He also wrote a sarcastic report about the incident.
• Deputy Stevie Wise called another jail employee a “klepto” when she took a day-old, leftover cupcake from a table.
She smashed a cupcake on his face, which angered Wise, the disciplinary letter said. Wise threw the cupcake at her and cursed as he chased her to a supervisor’s office. Wise also hit the supervisor’s door hard, causing it to bang into his co-worker’s body.
