The city of Denver is being sued for the alleged actions of an officer while he was at an off-duty job – again raising questions over police working private security.
Terry and Cheryl Mobley claim in the lawsuit that their son, Jonathan, was attacked by three security guards with the help of Denver police Sgt. Ryan Kaspersen, who also was working security at Elitch Gardens, on Aug. 19, 2006.
Along with Kaspersen, Elitch Gardens and unknown John Does, the lawsuit filed Aug. 20 in Denver District Court names the city and county of Denver and Police Chief Gerald Whitman as defendants.
Denver Manager of Safety Al LaCabe said police investigated a complaint about the incident and found that Kaspersen did not violate department policies. LaCabe also had no problem with officers doing outside work as long as it is preapproved by the department and limited to a maximum of 24 hours a week.
“We have found that, generally speaking, the system works well,” he said. “Frankly, it is a great benefit to have officers who work off-duty to be available.”
Jonathan Mobley, now 17, was an Elitch’s employee and leaving work at 10:20 p.m. when he was attacked and arrested, the lawsuit alleges. No reason for the arrest was given, but the lawsuit says he was acquitted of unspecified juvenile charges.
The lawsuit says the city failed to implement a policy of when an off-duty officer should use arrest powers, regulate the force used by off-duty police and enforce when officers must intervene in the actions of private security with whom the officer is working.
“Defendant City and County of Denver knew of, supported, adopted, approved and/or ratified the policies, customs, or practices of ignoring and violating the constitutional rights of the Plaintiff Jonathan Mobley,” the lawsuit says.
The claim brings up the issue of the city defending itself for the actions of officers who make money doing security on their personal time, said City Councilman Michael Hancock.
“It’s something we need to take a look at as far as our liability for off- duty cases,” he said.
The Denver auditor’s office is conducting an audit into police work hours, including off-duty work at bars and other private businesses. It is scheduled to be completed in the coming months.
The city’s policies have been questioned before, most recently when Detective Donnie Young was killed while working off-duty providing security at a night club in 2005.
The fact that off-duty work is approved by the city “muddies the water with the city’s liability of what is off-duty or what’s on-duty,” said Denis Berckefeldt, spokesman for City Auditor Dennis Gallagher.
Mobley suffered shoulder, head and ankle injuries, post-concussive syndrome, psychological trauma, memory loss and nausea from the attack, the lawsuit says.
The Mobleys; their attorney, Lonn Heymann, who is married to a Denver Post reporter; and Elitch Gardens declined public comment.
Kaspersen could not be reached for comment.
Staff writer Arthur Kane can be reached at 303-954-1244 or akane@denverpost.com.
This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to a reporting error, it used an incorrect first name for Denver City Councilman Michael Hancock.
