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DPD Officer's Firing Upheld For Sex On Duty

DENVER (CBS4) - The Denver Civil Service Commission has reversed a hearing officer's decision and ordered former Denver Police Department Officer Stephanie Southard fired for having sex on duty with her married boyfriend.

The police department fired Southard in April 2014 after her boyfriend -- also a DPD officer -- admitted the two repeatedly had sex while they were on duty and in uniform. The boyfriend, Nathan Sanchez, resigned after he admitted having sex while on the clock.

stephanie southard
Stephanie Southard (credit: Facebook)

Southard appealed her termination and a hearing officer sided with Southard and reinstated her. But Monday afternoon the full Civil Service Commission overturned the hearing officer's decision and upheld Southard's firing.

Southard's attorney, Sean Olson, told CBS4 he had not yet seen the decision and had not conferred with his client on what their next steps might be.

Denver's Civil Service Commission said, "We believe the method in which the hearing officer reached her conclusions was flawed."

The commission also found that Southard admitted she and Sanchez "sexted each other while on duty" and that Southard "engaged in stalking behavior."

The commission also noted that Southard and Sanchez would meet "whenever they could, while on duty (instead of patrolling the streets)."

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

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