Watch CBS News

Glendale Officer Charged With Assault In 'Bias-Motivated' Case

By Brian Maass

GLENDALE, Colo. (CBS4)- A CBS4 Investigation has learned that a Glendale Police Officer has been charged with assault, with the victim saying that the case had racial overtones and was "bias-motivated."

Officer Robert Kelly, 40, has been placed on paid administrative leave according to Glendale Police Chief Joe Haskins.

Robert Kelly
Robert Kelly (credit: LinkedIn)

"Due to the gravity of the allegations we have assigned a fair amount of resources to investigating this", said Haskins. "This is not something we are going to backburner."

According to police reports obtained by CBS4, the incident happened at 1701 Wynkoop Street in Denver early Sunday morning. Kelly was off duty at the time.

Police were called to look into a reported assault. Arriving officers first encountered Kelly just after 2 a.m. They say he was wearing a Rockies shirt, shorts and a baseball hat.

The victim- whose name was redacted in police reports- told police Kelly had hit him in the face. The victim recounted Kelly came up to him and said "See how f___ your lips how your f______ black you are (sic)… then Kelly struck him twice with his fists."

The victim told officers "he felt Kelly hit him due to the color of his skin. The victim insisted that he felt this was bias-motivated."

Contacted by CBS4, Kelly said, "At this point in time I'm not going to make a comment."

Glendale Police Chief Haskins said, "We take allegations against our officers very seriously and we are conducting a thorough and expeditious investigation into this. We're going to get a resolution as quickly as justice will allow us."

Denver's Department of Safety declined to release body camera video from its officers citing the ongoing criminal investigation.

Kelly is due in court for an arraignment on June 26.

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

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.