Jurors in U.S. District Court on Tuesday were told that Adams County sheriff’s Deputy Mark Nicastle was either a brave fighter for his First Amendment rights or an opportunistic troublemaker who shirked his duties.
The four-woman, five-man panel will now have to decide which version to believe in deliberations that began late Tuesday afternoon in Nicastle’s lawsuit against Adams County Sheriff Doug Darr.
The trial spanned nearly six full days and included testimony from Darr and Nicastle, who lost to Darr in November’s general election. Nicastle is on administrative leave from the Sheriff’s Office.
Nicastle claims Darr, his boss, violated his First Amendment rights by throwing roadblocks into his attempt to unseat him as sheriff.
Nicastle, a lifelong Democrat, decided to switch to the Republican Party to run against Darr after Adams County voters in 2009 agreed to let Darr seek a third term as sheriff.
Attorney Don Sisson told jurors Tuesday that Darr tried to destroy Nicastle’s political career by launching two internal-affairs investigations against him, publicly disparaging his character and finally by demoting him from lieutenant to sergeant in July 2008.
“This is a case about a bully who abused his power for political gain,” Sisson said of Darr. “Once he decided to run for a third term, he put Nicastle in a situation where he was politically weak.”
Problems for Nicastle — a 27-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office — began in January 2007, when he declared his intent to run for sheriff, Sisson said.
Darr launched investigations into Nicastle’s use of county cars for his private needs and his computer activity. Previously, those internal-affairs investigations were handled at the captain’s level, Sisson said.
“Only after Nicastle ran for sheriff did Darr initiate internal-affairs investigations,” Sisson said.
But Heidi Miller, assistant county attorney, told jurors that Nicastle was disciplined by Darr only because Nicastle ignored rules for years and started having “behavioral issues.”
“Sheriff Darr was simply unwilling to tolerate his behavior,” Miller said.
Nicastle consistently used his county car to make the 54-mile round trip to Denver International Airport to work his second job. He also refused to follow orders from supervisors and frequently left his duty post at the county jail, Miller said.
Darr, Miller added, could have fired Nicastle to truly ruin his political career, and he had the right to do so.
“Doug Darr has the ultimate responsibility for how the department is run,” Miller said. “He should have that authority.”
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com
