A Denver sheriff’s chaplain will serve a two-day suspension for giving preferential treatment last summer to a high-ranking officer who had been booked into the downtown jail.
Sgt. Gary Rolando will serve his suspension on Aug 14 and 15 for allowing a sheriff’s captain to wear street clothes to a bond hearing, according to his disciplinary letter obtained by The Denver Post.
Rolando’s suspension is tied to a case that led city officials to fire a former second-in-command at the sheriff’s department, which in turn, triggered accusations of corruption in the safety manager’s office from the deputies’ union.
In June 2014, Capt. Sonya Gillespie was arrested by Denver police after she was accused of throwing a cell phone at a man during an argument. Her charges later were dropped.
Rolando, who was working as a floor supervisor, allowed Gillespie to use a sergeant’s office to change into her street clothes the next morning rather than making her wear a jail uniform to court for her arraignment, the disciplinary letter said.
The department does not allow inmates to change clothes for arraignments, according to the letter.
In a statement, Rolando, who had no prior disciplinary problems, told internal investigators that sheriff’s department employees should not be booked into Denver jails.
“Asking DSD to attend officers’ funerals, weddings, personal activities, and ceremonies, and treat them as the family in blue, and then telling them to be impartial and book them into the jail is bad policy,” Rolando is quoted as saying in the disciplinary letter. “It sets officers up for failure. Every officer wants to do what is right, but emotion clouds judgment, so why set them up to fail?”
Rolando is the second sheriff’s department employee to be disciplined for giving preferential treatment to Gillespie.
Frank Gale, a former chief who ran the Downtown Detention Center and department spokesman, was for giving special treatment to Gillespie. Gale also holds a national office at the Fraternal Order of Police, which represents Denver deputies in collective bargaining.
After his firing, the union leveled charges of corruption against Stephanie O’Malley, the executive director of the public safety department. The union said Gale’s firing was meant to intimidate the rank-and-file.
Gale also allowed Gillespie to wear street clothes, attended her hearing and let her leave through the courthouse’s front doors rather than go through the normal procedures for releasing inmates.
Two deputies were waiting with a car and drove Gillespie away.
Next week, Gale will appeal his dismissal before the city’s Career Service Authority.
Noelle Phillips: 303-954-1661, nphillips@denverpost.com or twitter.com/Noelle_Phillips
