Extra help, lessons on interrogations and even some motivational coaching have helped the embattled Denver Sheriff Department clear a backlog of dozens of internal affairs cases, officials said Thursday.
The department said it has completed its work on 93 of 129 cases that were pending Nov. 17. The cases won’t be closed until they are reviewed by Denver’s independent monitor and its safety director. Nine of the 129 involve excessive force.
But Stephanie O’Malley, the executive director of public safety; Interim Sheriff Elias Diggins; and Grayson Robinson, the temporary director of the department’s internal affairs bureau, said they are pleased with the progress that has been made.
“I’m very proud to work with these people, and I’m proud to be a part of the successes they are responsible for,” said Robinson, the former Arapahoe County sheriff.
The department put a priority on addressing the backlog after Independent Monitor Nick Mitchell criticized its handling of internal cases and amid heavy public criticism over how it disciplined deputies.
Last year, a found the department averaged more than 10 months to discipline a deputy, and, in some cases, it took more than a year.
To get through , the department to oversee the internal affairs bureau. It also hired six part-time investigators.
Robinson said he found a department that was in shambles. But he also found investigators who wanted to do a good job and wanted to work hard.
“They worked very, very hard,” Robinson said. “The fact of the matter was they were understaffed. They were ill-trained, and they didn’t have a focus on resolution.”
Each investigator had about 30 cases.
“A caseload that large was impossible to manage,” Robinson said.
Robinson said he started his work by teaching Steven Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” to prepare the investigators for the changes he would make and for the changes that will come once the full sheriff’s department reform is finished in March.
He then set about training them in basic internal investigations, interviewing techniques and organization.
The six part-time investigators all had law enforcement experience, and they were paired with the sheriff’s full-time staff. That way, they could learn from one another, Robinson said.
Robinson said he sat with each investigator to discuss the complexities of each case and the obstructions that were slowing it. He then asked each investigator to give him a timetable for finishing each case.
Robinson then created a classification system for internal cases, ranking them on the complexity of each case.
A simple case now must be finished in 30 days. For example, an investigator recently completed an internal case on a minor car wreck within two weeks.
The most complex cases, such as those involving excessive force, must be completed within 90 days, Robinson said.
The investigators also organize their case files in the same style for every case. That makes it easier for anyone reviewing the file to find documents, he said.
Robinson cooperated with the independent monitor to address his concerns about the sheriff’s internal investigations.
In the past, Mitchell and his staff often kicked cases back to the department because they were incomplete.
Mitchell reviews all internal investigations before any deputy or police officer is disciplined.
On Thursday, Mitchell said the department’s interviews of witnesses and organization is better.
“I have seen notable improvement in the quality of their investigations,” he said.
Noelle Phillips: 303-954-1661, nphillips@denverpost.com or twitter.com/Noelle_Phillips
