A Denver detective was fired and two officers have been suspended without pay for inappropriate conduct.
The Denver Post first reported Wednesday that city Manager of Safety Charles Garcia fired Detective Kenneth Briggle after a judge found him in contempt of court during his divorce proceedings last summer. The judge ordered him to 37 days in work release.
UPDATE:
Denver Police Sergeant Ricki Stern of the Street Crime Attack Team wrote a fuming email in which he reportedly called Denver Manager of Safety Charles Garcia "an insult to everyone who puts on a uniform."
Garcia fired another Denver detective this afternoon for failing to fully investigate a Stapleton hit-and-run in December 2010 during which a pregnant woman lost her child. Detective Jay Estrada becomes the seventh officer fired since Garcia took his postion in March.
Sgt. John Bronson, of the Denver Police Protective Association's executive board told the Denver Post:
The other day Ricki said the manager told Chief Gerald Whitman that he wants Stern evaluated for fitness for duty. That is a legitimate email and that is pretty much the sentiment of everybody that listened to Garcia because he doesn't have the background of understanding police work.
Since at least May of this year the Denver Police Union has been calling for the resignation of Garcia and Independent Police Monitor Richard Rosenthal.
A call to Rosenthal's office was not immediately returned.
EARLIER:
According to KDVR-TV, Det. Briggle owed his wife more than $11,000 which he was ordered by the court to pay her from their 2008 divorce.
In an unrelated case, two Denver police officers were suspended for insubordination by way of videotaping an internal affairs police commander. The video camera used by Sergeant Bryan O'Neill and authorized by Lieutenant Daren Ciempa was disguised as a pen and used without the commander's knowledge.
Sgt. O'Neill is receiving suspension for 30 days, while Lt. Ciempa is to receive suspension for 40 days.