Deputy Firing Upheld, Second Firing Overturned

DENVER (CBS4) - The firing of Denver sheriff's deputy Thomas Ford, who slugged an inmate last July, has been upheld by a Denver hearing officer, but a second deputy who was fired for not reporting the excessive force was ordered reinstated with a minor suspension.

The Ford incident was captured on internal Denver jail video and was widely played by Denver media outlets and contributed to the ouster of Corrections Director Gary Wilson.

The jail video showed Ford charging across the jail floor and punching prisoner Kyle Askin who had unleashed a stream of racial abuse on Ford. Ford explained the punch by claiming the drunken inmate was unrestrained and posed a danger.

The department fired Ford for excessive force, prisoner abuse and making misleading statements. In a decision written last week and obtained by CBS4, Career Service Board hearing officer Valerie McNaughton upheld the termination, agreeing that Deputy Ford had "several options" he could have chosen to deal with the unruly prisoner.

"Based on the totality of the circumstances including the rushed pace of Ford's actions, it appears that his decisions were driven by impatience and unwarranted assumptions rather than a reasonable belief that a threat was imminent," wrote McNaughton.

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Although the Denver district attorney declined to file a criminal case against Ford, McNaughton ruled "the strike could have been charged as an assault under Colorado criminal law, as it met all the elements of that crime."

Sean Olson, Ford's attorney, told CBS4, "We're very disappointed in the hearing officer's decision. Deputy Ford is looking into his options going forward."

But McNaughton overturned the firing of Deputy William Lewis who the city fired for failing to report Ford's use of force. However McNaughton ruled that Lewis couldn't be held responsible for failing to report something he did not see. Although he was in the area, McNaughton wrote, "I find that Lewis did not see Ford hit the prisoner, and did not intentionally maintain ignorance about the use of force. Lewis testified credibly that he did not see the punch, and that he had no motive to lie about it in order to cover up another officer's use of force."

The hearing officer ruled Deputy Lewis "was not dishonest in writing his report" and should have his firing modified to a six-day suspension.

Lewis' attorney, Reid Elkus, told CBS4, "Deputy Lewis is thrilled that the Career Service hearing officer overturned his termination. Deputy Lewis has been a dedicated Denver Sheriff deputy for over a decade and with this ruling he feels vindicated that he did his job and that he did it correctly. He looks forward to reporting back to duty soon."

Although Denver's Manager of Safety's Office can claim victory in the Ford termination being upheld, the hearing officer criticized the Manager of Safety's Office on several counts. The Manager of Safety repeatedly asserted Deputy Ford not only punched Askin but also kicked him when he was down, leading to the firing. Denver's district attorney reviewed the videotape and said a kick never occurred.

A Denver police sergeant also found that after many viewings of the tape, "there was no kick." And now McNaughton concurs.

"I find after several viewings of the videos that Ford did not kick (Askin), drag him, or forcefully deposit him on the bench ... the evidence did not support the agency's findings that Ford ... kicked him at all."

McNaughton also chastised the Sheriff Department and the Manager of Safety's Office for their handling of the case noting that, "The agency's press release two days after the event demonstrated that the sheriff had already reached a conclusion with regard to both Ford and Lewis' culpability."

McNaughton said after the release of the video, the Manager of Safety and the Sheriff's Department engaged in a "rushed process" that was "premature."

CBS4 Investigator Brian Maass has been with the station more than 30 years uncovering waste, fraud and corruption. Follow him on Twitter @Briancbs4.