A Denver police officer who was convicted of hitting his girlfriend and then choking her into unconsciousness after she called 911 was denied reinstatement Thursday by the Colorado Court of Appeals.
Alex Woods Jr. can’t return to the Police Department because he is disqualified under the federal Guns Control Act of 1968, the court said.
Woods’ lawyer, Marc Colin,said that he didn’t know if the decision would be appealed to the state Supreme Court.
Colin said Woods currently owns a liquor store in Lakewood.
Linda Davison, an assistant city attorney for Denver, said she was pleased with the ruling.
“It is a good ruling for the city and a good ruling for victims of domestic violence,” she said.
Davison said the ruling recognizes that domestic violence law applies to relationships like that of Woods and his girlfriend, even though they were no longer living together.
The law makes it unlawful for people convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence crimes to possess or receive firearms. The law also applies to those convicted of a violent misdemeanor when the perpetrator and victim are in relationships similar to being spouses.
Although Woods and his girlfriend weren’t living together at the time of the Dec. 15, 1994, assault, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms advised the Denver Police Department that Woods’ conviction was for domestic violence and that his relationship with his girlfriend was similar to that of a spouse.
As a result, Denver disqualified Woods from further employment as a police officer because he can’t carry a gun.
Woods argued that because he and his girlfriend were no longer living together, he wasn’t in the same situation as a spouse and the crime didn’t constitute domestic violence.
But the Court of Appeals disagreed.
“The purpose of the (law) is to protect victims of domestic violence. And Congress intended the statute to have broad application and enforcement,” the court ruled.
Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-820-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
