{"id":966,"date":"2026-05-29T14:06:57","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T14:06:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=966"},"modified":"2026-05-29T14:06:57","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T14:06:57","slug":"denver-shifts-some-sheriff-discipline-away-from-independent-investigation-oversight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=966","title":{"rendered":"Denver shifts some sheriff discipline away from independent investigation, oversight"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…<\/strong><\/div>\n
\n

The Denver Sheriff Department is shifting some deputy disciplinary matters away from independent investigation and instead will handle them in-house, a move that narrows the scope of reforms city officials made more than six years ago.<\/p>\n

Read more Today in History: May 29, first woman races in the Indianapolis 500<\/a><\/p>\n

Denver Department of Public Safety Executive Director Al Gardner issued a four-page directive Wednesday exempting at least 14 types of policy violations from default investigation by the department\u2019s Public Integrity Division, a civilian unit created in 2019 to investigate internal affairs complaints and policy violations for the sheriff\u2019s department.<\/p>\n

The directive also empowers a team within the sheriff\u2019s department to screen complaints from inmates and others to determine whether the complaints should be investigated by the Public Integrity Division.<\/p>\n

That team will also screen some sexual assault allegations against deputies, and will handle investigations into body-worn camera policy violations unless it finds a deputy intentionally turned off their camera or it is at least a deputy\u2019s third violation of the policy, according to the directive.<\/p>\n

The thrust of the change is to empower first-line supervisors to handle minor disciplinary issues to try to \u201cunburden\u201d staff from onerous and \u201cunnecessary\u201d internal affairs investigations, Sheriff Elias Diggins said Thursday.<\/p>\n

He said he hopes the move will improve morale, retention and hiring at the chronically understaffed\u00a0agency, where he said the outside scrutiny leaves deputies feeling like they are walking on eggshells.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have created, with the system we put in place, an eggshell culture,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want to put deputies on solid ground, make sure they are doing their jobs, give the support they need \u2014 and if there is an issue that needs to go to internal affairs, that process still exists.\u201d<\/p>\n

The unilateral shift raised alarm among the city\u2019s police oversight groups. Julia Richman, a member of Denver\u2019s Citizen Oversight Board, called the directive \u201cdisheartening.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe board is never in favor of reduced accountability, reduced transparency and a lack of engagement in the community about big changes. This is just that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Lisabeth P\u00e9rez Castle, the city\u2019s independent monitor, said in a statement that the vague new approach to discipline does not clearly explain how safety officials will comply with city laws regarding the monitor\u2019s oversight. The directive reduces transparency and exposes the city to potential liability, she said.<\/p>\n

The new process will also make it difficult to know whether the sheriff department is \u201caddressing all allegations of misconduct or if it is selectively enforcing rules against some staff members, but not others,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

It was complaints about unfair and incomplete internal investigations by the sheriff\u2019s department that prompted city officials to create the Public Integrity Division \u2014 which is housed within the Department of Public Safety, rather than the sheriff\u2019s office \u2014 after a pair of outside reviews found significant problems with the sheriff department\u2019s internal affairs process.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The division took over internal affairs investigations for the sheriff\u2019s department, which runs Denver\u2019s jails and provides security in the city\u2019s courts.<\/p>\n

Diggins noted he was interim sheriff during the push for the Public Integrity Division and was part of implementing the reforms.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I would call them is perhaps changes that may have been thought to be good at the time, but what we have today is a system that does not work well,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have 50%-plus of our staff under investigation because of the measures that were put into place back then. That is unheard of in any law enforcement agency.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Tina Peters set for Monday release as her legal team launches renewed effort to overturn convictions<\/a><\/p>\n

Under the new approach, first-line supervisors will be responsible for investigating some categories of infractions and determining whether the policy violation warrants an internal affairs investigation, he said. If a deputy violates the same type of policy three times in three years, the fourth violation must be sent over to the Public Integrity Division, Diggins said.<\/p>\n

Supervisors will be empowered to offer coaching and verbal counseling, and to recommend that deputies go through additional training, he said, adding that he personally taught an hour-long training on the new approach to supervisors on Wednesday. The supervisors will document the counseling in the sheriff department\u2019s human resources software.<\/p>\n

Richman, the Citizen Oversight Board member, does not believe first-line supervisors are equipped to thoroughly review misconduct allegations and make informed decisions on what warrants further review.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf that was a process that had worked in the past, we would not have had to develop independent oversight, because supervisors could be trusted to do complete, thorough and sufficient reviews,\u201d she said. \u201cBut they don\u2019t. They don\u2019t have time. They don\u2019t have expertise. They can\u2019t be bothered with it because it is a huge pain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Diggins said he has the \u201cutmost faith\u201d that supervisors will \u201chold people accountable when necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gardner wrote in the directive that the changes are designed to ensure the Public Integrity Division \u201cfunctions as originally envisioned.\u201d He did not return a request for comment Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese changes are also necessary to reaffirm the Denver Sheriff Department\u2019s (DSD) authority over personnel matters that should rightfully be addressed and resolved by DSD,\u201d the directive reads. \u201cAs a result of previous adjustments to the process, DSD has been left with limited decision-making authority regarding employee conduct, and the PID has been inundated with administrative matters better suited for DSD review.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Public Integrity Division is used primarily for the sheriff\u2019s department; Denver\u2019s police and fire departments rely on their own internal affairs bureaus. The division also handles complaints about high-ranking leaders within the Department of Public Safety.<\/p>\n

For policy violations that are shifted back to the sheriff\u2019s purview \u2014 which the directive calls \u201cperformance issues\u201d \u2014 the sheriff will still refer some of the matters to the Public Integrity Division if they reach a certain threshold of severity or are repeated, according to the directive.<\/p>\n

For a number of the exempted violations, the threshold for an internal affairs investigation is \u201conly if an incident or actual harm occurs,\u201d according to Gardner\u2019s directive.<\/p>\n

That is the standard set for bringing weapons and cellphones into a secure area, safeguarding department property, monitoring the radio, misusing department letterhead, badges or insignia, secondary employment violations, and recommending bondsmen or attorneys to inmates.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you leave your weapon unsecured in the facility but no one gets hurt, it\u2019s OK?\u201d Richman said. \u201cHow could that possibly be a policy in a correctional facility?\u201d<\/p>\n

Richman said the approach may incentivize deputies to overlook policy violations if such violations rarely rise to serious discipline.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe culture in public safety departments and in Denver is to take care of your own,\u201d she said. \u201cThis approach takes (that stance) and possibly has an impact that says, \u2018Don\u2019t report, it is not considered a big deal, you won\u2019t have to be disciplined for it.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Democrats spar in Greeley, with eye on taking on U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans<\/a><\/p>\n

Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Denver Sheriff Department is shifting some deputy disciplinary matters away from independent investigation and instead will handle them in-house.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":965,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime-and-public-safety","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nDenver shifts some sheriff discipline away from independent investigation, oversight - Colorado Springs Moverss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=966\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Denver shifts some sheriff discipline away from independent investigation, oversight - Colorado Springs Moverss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Denver Sheriff Department is shifting some deputy disciplinary matters away from independent investigation and instead will handle them in-house.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=966\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colorado Springs Moverss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-29T14:06:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=966#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=966\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\"},\"headline\":\"Denver shifts some sheriff discipline away from independent investigation, oversight\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-29T14:06:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=966\"},\"wordCount\":1208,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=966#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/451d4c817c069e514e8b9d35af1cceca.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Crime and Public Safety\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=966#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=966\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=966\",\"name\":\"Denver shifts some sheriff discipline away from independent investigation, oversight - Colorado Springs Moverss\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=966#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=966#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/451d4c817c069e514e8b9d35af1cceca.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-29T14:06:57+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=966#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=966\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=966#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/451d4c817c069e514e8b9d35af1cceca.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/451d4c817c069e514e8b9d35af1cceca.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":682},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=966#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Denver shifts some sheriff discipline away from independent investigation, oversight\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Colorado Springs Moverss\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Denver shifts some sheriff discipline away from independent investigation, oversight - Colorado Springs Moverss","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=966","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Denver shifts some sheriff discipline away from independent investigation, oversight - Colorado Springs Moverss","og_description":"The Denver Sheriff Department is shifting some deputy disciplinary matters away from independent investigation and instead will handle them in-house.","og_url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=966","og_site_name":"Colorado Springs Moverss","article_published_time":"2026-05-29T14:06:57+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=966#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=966"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c"},"headline":"Denver shifts some sheriff discipline away from independent investigation, oversight","datePublished":"2026-05-29T14:06:57+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=966"},"wordCount":1208,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=966#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/451d4c817c069e514e8b9d35af1cceca.webp","articleSection":["Crime and Public Safety","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=966#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=966","url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=966","name":"Denver shifts some sheriff discipline away from independent investigation, oversight - Colorado Springs Moverss","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=966#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=966#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/451d4c817c069e514e8b9d35af1cceca.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-29T14:06:57+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=966#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=966"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=966#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/451d4c817c069e514e8b9d35af1cceca.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/451d4c817c069e514e8b9d35af1cceca.webp","width":1024,"height":682},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=966#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Denver shifts some sheriff discipline away from independent investigation, oversight"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/","name":"Colorado Springs Moverss","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com"],"url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=966"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/966\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}