Officer Accused Of Lying About Being Shot Continually Graded Average
By Brian Maass
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (CBS4) - Commerce City police officer Kevin Lord, arrested and accused of lying about being shot by a suspect earlier this month, was continually graded as average during his tenure with Commerce City and in a previous police job with the Thornton Police Department.
After Lord said he was shot Nov. 8 by a suspect he had stopped, who then got away, police launched a manhunt that lasted until last Friday night. That's when they announced there was no gunman and that Lord was under arrest for filing a false report and attempting to influence a public official. Although authorities are not releasing details about what happened, they apparently believe Lord shot himself. The motive is unclear.
Lord previously worked as a Thornton police officer from 1998 through 2006. Records released Wednesday to CBS4 show that while he was a Thornton officer, Lord was continually rated as average. Thornton grades officers on a 1 to 5 scale. In 1998, Lord was given a 2.5, in 1999, a 2.7, a 3.0 in 2000, the same grade in 2001 and in 2002, a 3.2. From 2003 through 2006 Lord was given the average grade of "successful" for each of those years. Successful is the middle grade of three potential grades.
Lord began his career as a Commerce City police officer in 2007, and in the last eight years, has been graded either as "competent" or "successful." Both grades are in the middle of the scale -- neither exceptional, nor below average.
On Wednesday, Commerce City complied with an open records request from CBS4 and released dozens of photos of Officer Lord taken in 2013 after he claimed he was assaulted by a burglary suspect. Lord subsequently was off work for eight weeks after the reported assault and he received the department's Purple Heart award for the serious bodily injuries he said he suffered in the pummeling.
Numerous current and former Commerce City police officers -- who requested anonymity -- told CBS4 that at the time they felt the 2013 incident was fishy and didn't believe Lord's account of what happened.
The photos show Lord at the scene and in a hospital bed with bumps and bruises on the left side of his head. Other pictures show Lord with what appear to be dust and dirt on his uniform pants, suggesting he fell or was wrestling on the ground.
According to Lord, he spotted a burglar stealing copper wire out of an unfinished home at 96th Avenue and Nucla Street. Lord said he chased the suspect and engaged in a physical confrontation with the man which left Lord battered and bruised. He said the suspect got away and a police K-9 that was brought searched the area but was not able to locate a suspect. A pair of wire cutters found at the scene were checked for fingerprints but a crime scene technician said no usable fingerprints could be extracted from the wire cutters.
A spokesperson for Commerce City told CBS4 earlier this week it was undecided if the city would re-investigate the Purple Heart incident, in light of Lord's arrest last week.
Late last week, sources say police executed a search warrant at Lord's home. Multiple sources also say Lord has not confessed to a hoax or admitted anything with regard to the Nov. 8 shooting incident. He is due in court Nov. 30.
Reid Elkus, Lord's attorney, told CBS4 he could not comment on the case.
CBS4 Investigator Brian Maass has been with the station more than 30 years uncovering waste, fraud and corruption. Follow him on Twitter @Briancbs4.
