DENVER
(AP) — A federal judge has asked the U.S. attorney's office to investigate
whether Denver police officers broke the law when they spoke with a key witness
in a federal civil rights lawsuit, the latest in a series of high-profile
misconduct allegations against Denver police and sheriff's deputies.
Judge
John Kane also wants an investigation into patterns and practices of the police
and sheriff's departments. Court documents released Tuesday confirmed his
request, first made during a Friday hearing in a lawsuit filed by Jamal Hunter.
Hunter
alleges a sheriff's deputy not only failed to protect him during a July 2011
beating by fellow jail inmates but encouraged the attack.
Hunter,
now 39, said he was attacked after his cellmates accused him of snitching. He
said they punched him, tied him up and burned his genitals with hot water from
a spigot.
One
of the inmates who participated in the beating, Amos Page, became a witness in
the civil rights lawsuit. He said in a sworn affidavit that a Denver sheriff's
deputy, Gaynel Rumer, knew inmates were planning the attack and helped
facilitate it.
Among
other allegations, Page said the attack could not have happened without Rumer's
involvement, and the deputy ignored Hunter's screams.
Rumer's
attorney, Thomas Rice, said the deputy denies the allegations. A police
department spokesman declined to comment, citing the pending lawsuit.
Hunter's
attorneys last month sought an emergency hearing after learning that Denver
police internal affairs sergeants Brian Cotter and Brad Lenderink spoke with
Page in prison March 10. Hunter's attorneys said the officers told Page he
could face criminal prosecution if he testifies.
Before
the hearing Friday, Kane listened to a recording of the officers' conversation
with Page and read a transcript, neither of which has been made public.
Kane
said the conversation showed a "deliberate process of intimidation"
of Page, an essential witness in the case.
"All
one has to do to see that is read the complaint and affidavit of Amos
Page," the judge said, according to a hearing transcript. Kane added the
sheriff's department has its own internal affairs unit, and he didn't
understand why police were involved.
An
attorney for the city, Cathy Havener Greer, told the judge she would look into
it.
Kane
wants the U.S. attorney's office to determine whether the officers broke laws
against witness tampering and intimidation.
A
spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office said it has received Kane's request,
but he declined to comment further.
"It's
extremely rare for a judge to refer a case for prosecution to the U.S.
attorney's office," said defense attorney David Lane, who is not involved
in the Hunter case but has other federal civil rights lawsuits pending against
Denver law enforcement. One of them involves a street preacher who died after
Denver sheriff's deputies restrained him in jail.
Lane
and his partner Darold Killmer hope the judge's request will prompt the FBI to re-examine
that case and others.
"He
(Kane) has asked an independent federal agency to take a look at what's going
on in Denver," Lane said. "No judge would lightly refer allegations
of police misconduct to the FBI."
Hunter
attorney Qusair Mohamedbhai said the situation involving Page "only
increases Mr. Hunter's resolve to expose Denver's pattern of corruption and
abuse."
In
the past two weeks alone, three Denver officers have been arrested for off-duty
offenses, including possession of child pornography, domestic violence and
assault stemming from a drunken brawl. The second highest-ranking member of the
sheriff's department resigned abruptly last year and was later indicted on
charges that he stole more than $20,000 worth of tax software from Target stores
by hiding it in bags of dog food.