Firefighters Disciplined For Bad Behavior At Bar
By Mark Ackerman & Brian Maass
DENVER (CBS4) – Five Denver firefighters were suspended without pay after a retirement party got out of hand at Denver's Central Market on Larimer Street.
One morning in July, the firefighters brought their own liquor inside the establishment just after nine am. When they were asked to leave, they not only refused but taunted and insulted the business owner.
Lt. Todd Revious was suspended 42 days without pay. Lt. Jeremy Young was suspended 30 days without pay. Both Lieutenants could face demotion if they have any more disciplinary problems.
Engineer Thomas Calabrese, Engineer Raymond Mix, and Firefighter Karl Larsen were also suspended for shorter periods.
"It was shocking," Stuart Jensen told CBS4 Investigator Brian Maass last July. Jensen is the co-owner of the Curio bar inside Central Market and wrote a formal complaint about the incident.
"They were very loud and vulgar, to the point of causing other patrons to become uneasy," wrote Jensen.
He said he politely asked the firefighters to stop drinking, or they would have to leave. But, that only escalated the situation. Jensen called police. But, before police arrived another group of six firefighters, in uniform, joined the first group, shaking hands, laughing about the situation and making it clear they had no intention of leaving.
A surveillance camera in the market caught everything on tape. Jensen shared the tape with the Denver Fire Department.
Jensen said eventually the firefighters left "waving at me and hollering insults".
"As a bar owner, we are in constant fear of violating our liquor license. There are undercover stings and severe consequences that result from us violating our terms in any way. The fact that a group of government employees would come into my business and behave in a manner that clearly violates those terms, and then insult us when we try to take recourse, is unacceptable, " said Jensen.
CBS4 Investigator Brian Maass has been with the station more than 30 years uncovering waste, fraud and corruption. Follow him on Twitter @Briancbs4.
Mark Ackerman is a Special Projects Producer at CBS4. Follow him on Twitter @ackermanmark
