One Denver Sheriff Department captain has been suspended for two days and another captain has been busted down a rank after the two were involved in giving an inmate a cigarette.
The officers landed themselves in trouble after trying to calm a mentally ill inmate during a cell extraction — a situation that previously has gotten the department in trouble after taking a violent turn.
In fact, cell extractions were addressed in a recent on failures within the department. The consultants said deputies need to use tactics to de-escalate the situations rather than rely on force.
Anthony Gettler, who was a captain serving in a major’s position when the incident occurred, was punished for carelessness in performing his duties and failure to observe department regulations, according to his May 27 disciplinary letter.
Wayne Jochem, who was a captain at the time, was demoted to sergeant, for neglect of duty and failure to observe department regulations, according to his April 30 disciplinary letter. A reduction in rank is significant because it means a loss of income and it can impact retirement earnings.
The case captured attention within the sheriff’s department’s ranks because of a perceived disparity in punishment for officers involved in the same incident, according to people familiar with the investigation.
The two were part of a team of deputies assembled Sept. 4 to move an inmate to another cell. The inmate, who was suffering from a mental illness, needed to be in a cell with a camera but was not cooperating with deputies, according to the disciplinary letters.
Cell extractions with inmates have the potential to turn violent, so multiple officers, including high-ranking supervisors, are called.
The inmate was mumbling about a cigarette. Gettler, who was the senior officer, went to another floor at the Downtown Detention Center to get a cigarette from another deputy, both disciplinary letters said.
When Gettler got the idea to find a cigarette, he said, “By all means, let’s not put anybody in the paper today,” Jochem’s letter said.
By the time Gettler got the cigarette, the cell extraction was postponed for medical reasons.
When the inmate was ready to be moved, Jochem went to Gettler’s office to get the cigarette, the letters said.
They did not discuss how the cigarette was to be used to coax the inmate into cooperation, Gettler’s disciplinary letter said. Gettler did not go back to help with the extraction.
The inmate was escorted to his new cell without any problems but became combative when deputies tried to leave. Once the inmate was under control, Jochem told a sergeant to give him the cigarette, the disciplinary letters said.
The inmate did not smoke the cigarette and later gave it back to the deputies, the letters said.
Two sergeants involved in the cell extraction said they were uncomfortable with an inmate being given a cigarette because tobacco is prohibited inside the jail, Jochem’s letter said.
Gettler told internal investigators that he intended only to show the inmate the cigarette as an enticement to move. He said he never gave Jochem permission to give the cigarette to the inmate.
But Jochem told investigators that Gettler originally had said, “If the inmate will move without force by giving him a cigarette, why not give him one?”
Jochem said he thought it was a creative idea to avoid physical conflict with a mentally ill inmate.
Daelene Mix, a safety department spokeswoman, said the difference between the two captains’ actions was one only planned to show the cigarette while the other ordered a lower-ranking sergeant to actually give the cigarette to the inmate.
Gettler “didn’t give an order through the chain of command to introduce contraband,” Mix said.
The incident reflects another problem within the ranks that was reported by the consultants. An “us vs. them” mentality exists between rank-and-file deputies and the command staff, and supervisors need to be held accountable for failing to implement and follow department policy, the report said.
Noelle Phillips: 303-954-1661, nphillips@denverpost.com or twitter.com/Noelle_Phillips
