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Greeley Tribune - Greeley,CO,U
27 January 2008

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Top cops: A few bad apples don

Residents place their trust in law enforcement to protect them and their rights on a daily basis, but some 'bad apples' break the very laws they swear to uphold.

It's a sweeping issue. From investigations into the Fort Collins police department regarding mishandling evidence in Timothy Masters' murder trial in 1999 to Denver police officers accused of having sex with prostitutes while on duty last week at a fast-food restaurant, the continued stories of wrongdoing have all the ingredients to shake the public's trust.

Most people fail to separate the individual from the uniform, and a select few in law enforcement who make headlines can give the entire profession a black-eye, officials say.

"Cops in general are ordinary people doing an extraordinary job ... they make mistakes sometimes," offered Al Sharon, captain of the Brighton police department. "Most people can't differentiate between agencies. Police are an amorphous mass of people out there. They are just all cops. So when something bad happens to officers, cops in general get painted with the same brush."

The most recent occurrence in Weld County was Jan. 7 when Weld Sheriff's deputy Landon Greatheart, 32, of Evans was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl. Another deputy, Joshua Ramaker, 31, of Evans was issued a summons on Jan. 17 to appear in court on suspicion of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Investigators learned he may have supplied alcohol to the 17-year-old girl involved in the Greatheart case.

Weld Sheriff John Cooke stands by his department in the wake of the arrests, saying these are the actions of a select few.

"People are people, and unfortunately there are a few bad apples," Cooke said. "With law enforcement, in general, people still have a high opinion, 99.9 percent (of the deputies) are OK."

Mary West-Smith, assistant professor of criminal justice University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, is familiar with what she calls the "rotten apple theory."

Based on this theory, West-Smith said if it is one or two people creating a problem, the overall organization is still good. But if it is one event after another, it becomes more than just a few rotten apples -- it becomes a systematic problem, she said.

"If there is a perception of a problem, it doesn't take very many incidents to have a profoundly negative effect on the department," West-Smith said.

The latest two cases, however, capped a year of bad news for law enforcement in the county. Shawna Nelson, a former police dispatcher, is accused of killing Heather Garraus. Nelson's husband, Ken Nelson, then a sheriff's deputy and member of the Greeley Weld Drug Task Force, was later arrested on suspicion of tampering with evidence. Shawna Nelson's best friend, Michelle Dawn Moore, another a former sheriff's deputy, is now accused of helping Nelson plan Heather Garraus' death.

The Evans police department also saw its share of allegations last year.

In October, Lt. Gary Kessler, who had been with the Evans police department for 17 years and served as acting chief of police at one point, resigned from the department amid allegations that he secretly taped a conversation between a defense attorney and a private investigator.

The following month, former Evans police officer Anjanette L. Quinn filed a civil suit against the Evans police department, claiming male officers in the department repeatedly sexually harassed her. Quinn was fired from the department earlier in 2007.

Cooke said the incidents haven't yet given his department a black eye.

"The two incidents haven't tainted law enforcement in general," Cooke said. "We try to weed them out, and unfortunately a few get through."

Greeley Police Chief Jerry Garner said he immediately tells young officers they do not have same amount of rights as the average citizen -- they have less because they are highly visible in the community.

"Someone who enforces the law for others has to obey it themselves," Garner said. "We place those higher expectations on them, and occasionally they are too much for some."

Garner and Cooke agree that law enforcement officials need to act differently than the general public.

"They should be held to a higher standard," Cooke said. "Every law enforcement officer is automatically held to a higher standard because they have a lot more power and authority."

However, deputies are people just like everyone else and are free to do what they want off duty. Cooke investigated one of his deputies just last week because the deputy had filmed himself in a sexual act and sent it to another deputy's cell phone in December.

While Cooke deemed the behavior "stupid and totally ridiculous," he said that because the event occurred off duty with a private cell phone, there is legally nothing he can do about it.

"When off duty, there are some things we can control and some things we can't control," Cooke said. "He is certainly not a bad apple because it is legal conduct. ... We have over 300 employees, because two get arrested and one does something stupid, it doesn't make the whole office bad apples."

Cooke said there are unethical people in any profession. Law enforcement employees are under a brighter spotlight, he said, comparing the situation to a teacher or priest who is accused of a crime. He said society doesn't condemn the entire profession, just the individual.

Evans Police Chief Rick Brandt said he could not comment on recent allegations against his department, but he maintains his department is resilient enough to "bounce back."

"No one takes these kind of allegations lightly," Brandt said. "They are emotionally and professionally draining on the organization."

However, Sharon said arrests made within a department can be particularly devastating to the morale of employees.

"It's like standing next to someone who is splashing mud, you get mud all over you," Sharon said. "It brings into question: 'What is everybody doing?' And if you can't trust the cops who can you trust?"

Sharon said the fact that Cooke did the right thing by making the arrests speaks volumes for the department, but it could bring negative attention as a result.

There is an extensive hiring process with law enforcement, and annual ethics training for officers, but the pool of qualified candidates for law enforcement agencies to choose from is shrinking, officials say.

Garner said in his 39 years in law enforcement, it has never been more difficult to hire officers due to lack of interest in the profession and issues with people's background checks.

Yet, while it may be hard to find qualified candidates, Garner said he will go short-staffed before hiring someone who fails to meet his standards.

West-Smith said all officers have is their integrity, and once that is gone, it can have profound effects not just on that individual, but the department as a whole.

"There is a tremendous ripple effect when someone is brought up on charges," West-Smith said. "It spreads to the department and the community as a whole."

INCIDENTS

Some of the incidences of law enforcement misconduct in Weld County in recent years include:

2002 -- Weld County Sheriff's deputy Dan Cooch is charged with misdemeanor harassment of two women Realtors.

2004 -- Gilcrest police officer Jason Seymour, accused of breaking in and setting fire to an abandoned house in Gilcrest, pleads guilty to criminal trespassing.

2005 -- Weld Sheriff correctional officer Donna Davis resigns amid a felony count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

2007 -- Shawna Nelson, a former police dispatcher, is arrested on investigation of first-degree murder of Heather Garraus.

2007 -- Weld Sheriff detective Ken Nelson was arrested on suspicion of tampering with evidence in the Heather Garraus case.

2007 -- Former Weld Sheriff deputy Michelle Dawn Moore is charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and criminal attempt to commit first-degree murder in the Heather Garraus case.

2007 -- Evans Police Lt. Gary Kessler resigns from the department amid allegations that he secretly taped a conversation between a defense attorney and a private investigator.

2007 -- Former Evans police officer Anjanette L. Quinn files a civil suit against the Evans police department. Quinn alleges some members of the department sexually harassed her.

2008 -- Weld Sheriff's Deputy Landon Greatheart is arrested on suspicion of sexual assault.

2008 -- Weld Sheriff's Deputy Joshua Ramaker is issued the summons to appear in court on suspicion of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

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Greeley Tribune - Greeley,CO,U27 January 2008

Top cops: A few bad apples don

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Greeley Tribune - Greeley,CO,U
27 January 2008