Denver Sheriff Department
Coverage of Denver Sheriff Department in the Nexus archive.
- Family files federal civil rights lawsuit, claims Denver deputies ignored cries for help from their loved one
A Denver family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City and County of Denver, alleging deputies ignored their loved one's cries for help as another inmate, Ricky Lee Roybal-Smith, strangled him to death in a jail cell. The lawsuit claims Roybal-Smith, a repeat offender high on methamphetamine, was placed in the same cell as Vincent Chacon, a non-violent inmate, leading to his preventable death.
- Denver’s independent monitor says change in sheriff department is ‘eliminating transparency, eliminating accountability’
Denver’s Department of Public Safety rolled back independent oversight of the Denver Sheriff Department for deputy misconduct, removing some offenses from the Administrative Investigation Unit’s purview and limiting others to cases involving actual harm. Independent Monitor Lisabeth Pérez Castle criticized the change as a violation of city ordinance and a threat to transparency and accountability.