Investigator condemns handling of case involving drunken officer
Aurora Police Department leadership made “significant errors of judgment” at nearly every stage when handling the case of an officer caught driving drunk while on duty, according to a review by a former federal prosecutor released Thursday.
The ranking officer at the scene that day failed to take necessary steps to gather all evidence, then-Chief Nick Metz erred when he overruled an internal recommendation that the officer be fired and then the chief erred again when he failed to initiate an investigation into how the department handled the case, the report by former Colorado U.S. Attorney John Walsh states. The series of errors made it impossible to pursue criminal charges and led to a controversy that undermined the public’s trust in the department and officers’ faith in their leadership, Walsh wrote.
“As the report shows, critical missteps were made in APD’s immediate response to the incident, in the process of reviewing the adequacy of that response, and in the final outcome of the disciplinary process,” the report states. “The evidence is not sufficient to conclude, however, that these acts and failures to act were the result of improper motives or bad faith.”
The review stems from a March 29 incident where Aurora Officer Nate Meier was found passed out drunk in his department car in the middle of a busy street while he was on duty. The incident was not investigated as a DUI despite multiple officers on the scene reporting that they smelled alcohol on Meier and in the car. Meier kept his job even after admitting that he was blacked-out drunk.
Walsh found that nearly all the lower-level officers involved in the incident acted appropriately. The officers who smelled alcohol on Meier noted that in their report. When an internal affairs investigation began, it was comprehensive and fair. The group of command staff who reviewed the internal affairs investigation recommended Meier be fired. Multiple officers in the department raised red flags internally that the incident needed more investigation.
“Had their advice and counsel been followed, we would have
had a very different set of outcomes,” Walsh said at a city meeting Thursday where he summarized his report.
But problems arose when the lower-level officers’ work landed in the hands of the department’s leaders.
Paul O’Keefe, then deputy chief, was the first to arrive at the scene of the incident and smelled a faint whiff of alcohol, but later that day called off a criminal investigation into the matter. Other officers followed his lead because he was the ranking officer there. Metz met with Meier to talk about the issue and then overruled a recommendation he be fired despite evidence that Meier had a long-standing alcohol abuse problem. Other highranking officials also requested to Metz that internal affairs open an investigation into how O’Keefe handled the initial incident, but that never happened.
“I think it’s unfortunate that the decisions of a couple people at the top have undermined the trust in the entire department,” Councilwoman Allison Hiltz said at a Thursday city meeting.
Metz on Thursday declined an interview with
The Denver Post, stating that he submitted a written statement to the City Council on his views.
“I don’t believe engaging in a public debate benefits anyone at a time when our country, our state, and our city are facing the worst health threat in decades,” Metz wrote in a text message, citing the COVID-19 pandemic. Walsh attempted to interview O’Keefe for his investigation, but the former deputy chief declined through his attorney. Walsh noted that it appeared O’Keefe was genuinely confused at the scene as to whether Meier was drunk or suffering a medical emergency, but that O’Keefe’s decision to “err on the side of caution” and not get a blood sample was wrong.
“Although Dep. Chief O’Keefe appears to be sincere in this description, the same benefit of the doubt would likely not have been provided to a civilian driver in the same circumstances,” the report states. “The consequence of APD’s incomplete investigative response was that no DUI investigation of Officer Meier went forward and a likely valid prosecution did not proceed.”
The 329-page report recommends the city make multiple changes, including:
• Requiring a criminal investigation if an officer is suspected of driving or possessing a weapon while drunk or drugged. The department made this change earlier this year.
• Requiring officers consult with prosecutors when investigating such a case.
• Referring any case where an officer is suspected of serious criminal misconduct to an outside agency for investigation.
• Strongly encouraging chiefs to request the use of the city’s Independent Review Board for any case that might have substantial community impact. Neither Metz nor Meier requested the board in the March incident.
Aurora City Manager Jim Twombly said Thursday he already has made a change allowing his office to request the involvement of the Independent Review Board for any controversial discipline decision. He also said the city’s human resources department will be involved in police discipline issues.
Interim Chief Vanessa Wilson previously said that she could not change the discipline given to Meier — a lengthy suspension and a demotion — because the civil service rules meant she could not discipline him twice for the same act.
“The conclusion of this review brings us all one step closer to healing and earning back the public trust,” Wilson said in a statement Thursday.
Eighteenth Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler announced in February that he could not file charges against Meier because Aurora police officers at the time of the incident did not collect the evidence he would need.
The incident became public after a report by CBS4 in December, during the last weeks of former Chief Nick Metz’s tenure. He was supposed to be replaced by O’Keefe while the city searched for a permanent chief, but O’Keefe retired instead, citing the Meier incident he became embroiled in. The bill for Walsh’s services will likely come to about $200,000, Twombly said.
Hiltz, the councilwoman, said that while there is no excuse for Meier’s actions, it was the decisions of the department’s leaders that created large-scale controversy.
“(Meier) was launched into international news and publicly shamed because we had people at the top who did what they did,” she said. “And I think they owe him an apology.”