DEPUTY, POLICE SERGEANT FIRED

One termination was tied to racial slurs and the other was for drinking in uniform.

Deputy sheriff charged with using racial slurs and harassing inmates, and a sergeant is accused of drinking while in uniform at a Capitol Hill bar.

Denver’s Department of Safety has fired a deputy sheriff for using racial slurs and harassing inmates and a police sergeant for drinking while in uniform and abandoning a post to have sex with a woman.

Deputy Sheriff Jeremy Simons was fired Nov. 21 for telling Sherod Kindell, who had been shot by Denver police, “You’d better be glad that Denver police shot you instead of me or the Denver Sheriffs, or we would have killed you.”

Simons, who was hired in 2014, was accused of discrimination, harassment or retaliation against prisoners and harassment of prisoners, according to a disciplinary letter obtained by The Denver Post through an open-records request.

Kindell, who was identified only as “SK” in the disciplinary letter, was pulled over Jan. 9 after running a stop sign in a Jeep that authorities said was stolen. He refused to get out of the vehicle and reversed the car, hitting two officers and striking their police cruiser. One of the officers, Jeffrey DiManna, fired five gunshots at Kindell.

DiManna was not charged in the shooting. In March, Kindell pleaded guilty to one felony count of possession of a weapon by a previous offender, one misdemeanor assault charge and one count of distributing marijuana.

Simons had harassed Kindell and other inmates, calling them “monkeys” and, if they filed grievances against him, “snitches,” the report said. Inmates said Simons “likes to put tension in the pod.”

Simons did not have any previous disciplinary actions and had received a Livesaving Award.

Denver Police Sgt. Timothy Delsordo was fired after multiple witnesses said he drank during offduty shifts at the Capitol Hill bar Charlie’s and stashed his gun belt in unsecured places, once so he could abandon his post for two hours to have sex with a woman he met at the bar, a disciplinary letter said.

Despite the witness accounts, Delsordo denied drinking on the job or in uniform. But the Internal Affairs Bureau disagreed, accusing him of violating a duty to obey departmental rules and mayoral executive orders, drinking on duty, careless handling of firearms, commission of a deceptive act, disobedience of an order and conduct prejudicial, the letter said. He was fired Nov. 16. “Sergeant Delsordo is not a rookie cop,” his disciplinary letter said. “He is a command officer who is required to lead by example.”

Denver police officers are allowed to work off-duty security jobs in police uniforms but are required to obey department rules.

The report detailed accounts of bartenders serving Delsordo vodka in his energy drinks and giving him an open tab, which he used to hand people free drinks while in uniform after his shift. It also said the sergeant mishandled his gun on at least three occasions, once when he gave what he called a safety demonstration around 15 people who were probably drinking.

Delsordo started working for the department in 2003. He had no significant disciplinary incidents in the past. He had received several commendations, including two District 5 Top Cop Awards. In one of those cases, he and the manager of Charlie’s covered a twonight hotel stay for a homeless family with two kids.

Delsordo’s daughter, Ash- ley, has started a petition to reinstate her father on Change.org. As of 5 p.m. Friday, 160 people had signed.

“My father is the best man I know, and I’m not just saying that because I’m his daughter,” Ashley Delsordo wrote, saying he would never drink on the job. “He has always been so selfless within his position and was a great leader.”

Delsordo disobeyed an order to stay away from Charlie’s, which included banning him from communicating with its staff, and he acted deceptively during the investigation, according to the report.

The department said he violated additional rules by working another job while on injury status, exceeding the maximum amount of work hours and working an off-duty job shift without prior approval.

“His actions placed others, including himself, at risk. He disobeyed a direct order. He engaged in deceptive conduct,” the letter said. “His behavior was disgraceful.”