Denver Sheriff Department

The Denver Sheriff Department is a criminal justice agency based in Denver, Colorado, United States. The department is responsible for the care and custody of inmates within Denver's jail system, for the city's court services, and other responsibilities assigned by the executive director of safety. Unlike the Denver Police Department, it is not responsible for patrol or investigations.

Denver Sheriff Department
Since 1999
Since 2004
AbbreviationDSD
MottoDedication, Service, Duty (DSD)
Agency overview
FormedDecember 2, 1902
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionDenver, Colorado, USA
Map of Denver Sheriff Department's jurisdiction.
Size154.9 square miles (401 km2)
Population663,862 (2014)
Legal jurisdictionCity & County of Denver, City & County of Denver Courts, and Denver Detention Facilities
Constituting instrument
  • City Charter, Article XX, Colorado Constitution
General nature
Operational structure
Headquarters490 West Colfax Avenue, Denver, CO 80204
Agency executive
  • Fran Gomez, Acting Sheriff
Parent agencyDenver Department of Safety; Executive Director of Safety Troy Riggs[1]
Website
Denver Sheriff Website

As of September 2016, the agency employed more than 985 sworn and civilian members.[2]

History and structure

The Denver Sheriff Department was established on December 2, 1902, at the same time as the City and County of Denver. The department was tasked with providing security in the courts, court related services and the county jail. Later duties were given to the department.

The current county jail opened in 1956 and has undergone many changes to the telephone pole construction with large cell houses to modern day direct supervision pods. Ninety percent of the original county jail has been razed to accommodate the new buildings.

One of the most famous duties of the department was the placement of Denver Boot, a non-destructive device that prevents a vehicle in with a parking violation from leaving by preventing one or more wheels from functioning. The "boot" was invented by Denverite Frank Marugg, who was a musician with the Denver Symphony Orchestra in 1953. The police had the detail at first, however was given to the sheriff departments Court Services Division. The duties of placing the boot on vehicles was given to Denver's Parking Management in the late 1980s.

In 1951, the City Jail was manned by deputy sheriffs removing the police officers for street duties. Police commanders supervised deputy sheriffs until 1968 when command was fully given to sheriff officials. The City Jail was located on the 4th floor of the police headquarters located at 13th & Champa Sts. In 1978, a new police headquarters and city jail was opened at 13th & Cherokee Sts. The Pre Arraignment Detention Facility (PADF) served as the main booking facility until the new Downtown Detention Center opened. DDC is named after a Denver District Attorney (Phillip Van Sise) and Denver's longest serving undersheriff ( Louis John Simonet). Simonet official title was Director of Corrections & Undersheriff and was the executive head of the department for eighteen years. In 2013, the title of sheriff was given to the executive head of the department. Denver does not have a statutory undersheriff as in other counties. The 2013 shake up called for the Manager of Safety/Ex Officio Sheriff to become the Executive Director of Public Safety, thus no longer being the "sheriff" of Denver. The Director still oversees the operation of the fire, police and sheriff departments.

The department is overseen by the executive director of safety and the sheriff; both positions are appointed by the mayor. Denver's Sheriff is appointed by the Mayor of Denver, which makes the DSD unique as all other Colorado county sheriffs are elected. In the City & County of Broomfield, the Chief of Police oversees the "sheriff function".

Responsibilities

The department's current responsibilities include:

  • Managing the Downtown Detention Center and the County Jail
  • Providing security and other services for the district and county court systems
  • Transporting inmates
  • Extraditions
  • Staffing fugitive and K-9 units as well as the Vehicle Impound Lot (VIF) or Car Pound
  • Operating the city's alternative sentencing program
  • Providing security at the jail ward at Denver Health Medical Center
  • Executing Civil Processes and Evictions.

Divisions

The department is composed of the Office of the Sheriff and two divisions:[3]

  • Operations Division
  • Administration Division

Rank structure
Title Insignia
Sheriff
Division Chief
Major
Captain
Sergeant
Deputy

Inmate programs

Substance abuse

In early February 2014, the Denver Sheriff Department introduced a new evidence-based substance abuse curriculum that combined models from Thinking for a Change (T4C) and SMART Recovery. The curriculum, developed by both sworn and civilian staff, replaced the Drug and Alcohol Abuse class.

RISE program

Also focused on inmates with substance addictions, RISE is an intensive jail-to-community program with the capacity to serve 36 to 64 inmates in each housing area. Its curriculum is based on elements of social learning theory, the 12-step philosophy, cognitive behavior strategies, and life skills. The program aims to provide tools for recovery and to foster self-efficacy in a peer-to-peer learning environment.

The men's RISE program began in July 2011, and the women's in December of the same year. Among both genders, the recidivism rate for graduates of the program is substantially lower than for other inmates.

Men's RISE unit

The men's program focuses on offenders with DUI-related charges and those struggling with alcohol or drug addiction. Inmates are referred to the program by the Drug Court, Sobriety Court, and offender volunteers. The goal is to reduce the number of substance-abuse-related arrests by providing peer-based recovery services.

Although the program is structured as peer-to-peer, offender facilitators are supported by program staff and sworn staff (because of their direct supervision role in the jail system). Staff members offer assessment through observation, provide reassurance, and help evaluate program practices and expectations.

In 2014, the program enrolled 266 individuals. By the end of that year, 152 (57%) had graduated.

Women's RISE unit

The women's program serves offenders with substance abuse issues, co-occurring disorders related to past trauma, and/or mental health issues. The Drug Court or Sobriety Court may refer offenders who have been sentenced to county jail for charges related to DUI or substance abuse. Offenders may also volunteer to participate in RISE.

Several local mental health and substance abuse organizations are contracted to provide therapeutic services for RISE, including life skills training, trauma therapy, and transition services.

In 2014, 156 women were enrolled in the program, with 71 (45.5%) graduating as of December 31.

GED program and computer lab

In 2014, the department suspended its GED testing process while transitioning to a new national testing system. A computer lab was built at the Denver County Jail to accommodate the new GED curriculum and testing process, which is completely computer-based. The lab allows for 10 GED candidates to test at one time. During the transition, the department continued to provide GED classes.

In November 2014, officials began allowing individuals housed in the Special Management Transition Units to attend GED classes with general-population participants of the same classification level. This policy change opened GED classes to inmates whose risk level might have previously prevented them from participating.

Future programs

Programs being considered for the future include:

  • An adult literacy program focused on improving the reading and writing skills of inmates not yet prepared to obtain their GED
  • Programs for female inmates focused on:

Achievements

Denver Deputy Sheriffs have been involved in security details for World Youth Day 1993, the 1997 G-8 Summit, and the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

On November 20, 2013, the National Sheriff's Association presented the Triple Crown Award to the Denver Sheriff Department, making it one of only 35 sheriff's departments to receive the award since it was established in 1993. The Triple Crown Award recognizes sheriff's offices that achieve simultaneous accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, the American Correctional Association, and the National Commission on Correctional Health Care.[3]

Misconduct

In July 2010, suspect Marvin Louis Booker was tackled by five sheriff's deputies, put in a headlock, handcuffed, and then tased. Shortly after, he went into cardio-respiratory arrest and died. The City and County of Denver did not bring criminal charges against the officers. However, in a civil trial in 2014, the officers were found liable, and the Booker family was awarded $4.65 million in damages.[4][5]

In October 2012, Deputy Bruce Mitchell released Elvie Bellamy, an inmate who was supposed to be transferred to another facility. The jail staff did not notify the police or other agencies, instead attempting to recapture the prisoner themselves. They arrested, then released, another man who resembled Bellamy. This was the third time Deputy Mitchell had mistakenly released a prisoner. He was suspended for four weeks.[6][7]

In December 2013, a report by Nicholas Mitchell, Denver's independent monitor, indicated that the department had not been investigating all allegations of prisoner abuse at the jail, as required by law. The report also indicated that the jail staff used tasers on uncooperative prisoners.[8]

In January 2014, Deputy Matthew Andrews was sentenced to six years in prison for helping a prisoner escape from jail. Andrews allowed the prisoner to wear his uniform to leave the facility.[9]

In February 2014, Deputy Brady Lovingier was suspended for thirty days after an unprovoked attack on a heavily-restrained prisoner two years earlier. The attack took place in front of a judge, in a courtroom, and was recorded on video. Lovingier, the son of the previous sheriff, appealed his suspension.[10] While awaiting a decision on his appeal, Lovingier was assigned to train other deputies on the use of force.[11] In an official statement, Sheriff Gary Wilson said he did not know Lovingier was teaching the class.[12]

In late July 2014, Sheriff Wilson resigned under pressure from the mayor to end abuse at the jail.[13] In 2018, Wilson left the Department to pursue a real estate career. https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-l-wilson

In August 2019, Diana Sanchez filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court claiming that she was forced to give birth to her son alone in her cell without medical supervision or treatment, despite repeatedly telling the jail’s staff that she was having contractions. Her suit alleges that instead of “ensuring that Ms. Sanchez was able to give birth in a safe and sanitary medical setting,” nurses and deputies “callously made her labor alone for hours,” forcing her to endure a “horrific experience”. Moments after the baby's birth, a male nurse is seen on camera walking into the cell and taking the baby boy away. It was reported that he had been watching the incident from outside the cell instead of providing help during the child birth.[14]

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See also

References
  1. McCoy, Adam (2018-02-07). "Denver mayor taps new head of public safety". Colorado Poltitics. Retrieved 2018-02-07.
  2. "About the Denver Sheriff Department". Denver. City and County of Denver. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
  3. https://www.denvergov.org/content/denvergov/en/sheriff-department.html
  4. Mitchell, Kirk. "Jurors award $4.65 million in Denver jail abuse death of Marvin Booker". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2015-12-23.
  5. Remix this video (2011-05-11). "Marvin Booker HOMICIDE July 9, 2010". YouTube. Retrieved 2015-12-23.
  6. "Web-distracted Denver sheriff’s deputy let inmate waltz free; In the hurried manhunt that followed, the same deputy cruised city streets and nabbed an innocent black guy", by Susan Greene, 3 March 2014, Colorado Independent
  7. "Video Released Of Accidental Jail Release". Retrieved 2016-12-11.
  8. "Report: Grievances overlooked in Denver jails; Independent Monitor exposes failure to investigate officer misconduct", by Susan Green, 3 December 2013, Colorado Independent
  9. Deputy sentenced to six years for helping robber escape from jail, by Matt Farley, 24 January 2014, KDVR.com
  10. "Unprovoked: Courtroom video shows Denver sheriff’s deputy attacking shackled inmate; Safety officials waited a year to discipline son of former Sheriff’s Department chief", by Susan Greene, 13 February 2013, Colorado Independent
  11. "Unaware: Sheriffs 'unknowingly' assigned rogue deputy to train colleagues". The Colorado Independent. 2014-02-20. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
  12. "Exclusive video: Denver deputy belted, then kicked inmate who posed no apparent threat", by Susan Greene, 16 July 2014, The Denver Independent
  13. "Denver sheriff Gary Wilson steps down amid turmoil in department – The Denver Post". Retrieved 2016-12-11.
  14. "'Nobody cared': A woman gave birth alone in a jail cell after her cries for help were ignored, lawsuit says – The Washington Post". Retrieved 2019-08-30.
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