Colorado Springs Police Chief Luis Velez faces a no-confidence vote from the police union in the midst of a controversy over lost evidence.
“There are a lot of problems right now with the evidence,” said Richard Radabaugh, attorney for the Colorado Springs Police Protective Association. “There’s differing opinions about why that occurred that are at odds with the chief’s report.”
The department improperly disposed of evidence in hundreds of criminal cases, prompting a series of investigations, including a review by the Colorado attorney general’s office.
AG spokeswoman Kristen Hubbell acknowledged Monday that the office’s inquiry is focused on whether the internal police audit of the lost evidence was “complete and thorough.” That audit, released two weeks ago, blamed an evidence supervisor for improperly purging evidence in more than 500 cases but cleared that employee and others of criminal wrongdoing.
Hubbell said it is “premature” to discuss the full scope of what could be a month-long investigation.
Radabaugh said officers interviewed about the loss of evidence were told not to discuss the matter with anyone, including the district attorney’s office.
“There seems to be a lot of dissatisfaction right now within the Police Department. They have some morale issues,” he said.
Velez declined to comment Monday on the pending vote.
The union will send ballots late this week to its 655 sworn officers and 55 civilians to vote on whether it has confidence in Velez. Voting will last seven days.
Last week, union members began signing petitions to decide whether to hold a no-confidence vote after learning that Lt. Brian Grady had been transferred from major crimes to a graveyard patrol shift.
Grady was moved June 2, hours after Velez briefed the City Council about the lost evidence. Grady showed up at the briefing and later spoke to council members.
If officers vote no confidence, it will signal that the rank and file has “lost confidence in the police chief to govern the Police Department or administer the Police Department in a just and fair fashion,” Radabaugh said. The vote has no official repercussions but is an expression of how officers feel about Velez’s stewardship of the department.
The department’s last no-confidence vote was in the late 1980s. In a show of hands, officers voted that they had lost faith in then-Chief James Munger.
Radabaugh said that this time, to avoid the possibility of retaliation, ballots will be mailed to members and then returned to his office and counted.
Councilman Jerry Heimlicher, in an informal council meeting Monday, said he didn’t believe the lost evidence could be the responsibility of a single employee and unknown to supervisors.
“I’m not looking for a scapegoat; I’m looking for a review of the process. Something fell apart. Both audits clearly say that we didn’t follow procedure, and the procedures were adequate.”
Erin Emery can be reached at 719-522-1360 or eemery@denverpost.com.
