EDGEWATER, Colo. — Jefferson County prosecutors dropped an obstruction charge against a man accused of being involved in a bar fight last December – a move that came amid concerns raised by the arresting officer’s body camera footage, 9NEWS Investigates has learned.
It’s the second time the same Edgewater Police officer’s body camera footage has hampered prosecutors. In the other case, footage showed the officer berating and threatening to shoot a suspect – and holding a gun to the back of the man’s head.
Prosecutors agreed to a plea deal in that case.
“Pre-body camera footage, it was kind of assumed that the police officers were telling the truth and were giving an accurate recitation of what happened,” said Eric Faddis, a former prosecutor who is a criminal defense and civil lawyer. “That's no longer the assumption.”
The newest incident to trouble prosecutors unfolded early in the morning of Dec. 30 at the American Legion post at 1901 Harlan St. It ended when Edgewater Police Officer Paul Perez confronted a man believed to be the primary aggressor in a bar fight.
At one point, according to internal Edgewater Police reports, Perez said the man approached him “in a threatening manner” and he, in turn, shot the man with a Taser and then shoved him “to avoid the situation from further escalating.”
The man fell and hit his head on the bar, causing an injury that required medical attention.
The man was originally charged with obstructing police, harassment, trespassing and criminal mischief.
On July 15, according to court documents obtained by 9NEWS Investigates, prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss the obstruction charge “on grounds that the people lack an element of the offense.”
A judge later granted that request. The other charges are still pending.
Perez declined a request for an interview.
Edgewater Police Chief Eric Sonstegard said that the two incidents – and another – led him to discipline Perez by requiring additional training in de-escalation, ordering him to see the department’s psychologist, and stripping him of his status as a field training officer for a year.
Those three incidents all occurred during a 72-hour period, Sonstegard said, during which Perez was dealing with “some pretty serious family issues."
“I believe that had an impact on those 72 hours,” Sonstegard said. “While that does not in any way excuse his language and his demeanor, we’re all human beings. And so I took that into account when I imposed discipline, and I took that into account as we moved forward.”
Sonstegard acknowledged that he was troubled by Perez’s demeanor and actions in the two incidents that concerned prosecutors.
“I think it’s pretty crystal clear now and in the language I used in the internal affairs investigation, and in the meetings I’ve had with Officer Perez since then, that this will not happen again,” Sonstegard said. “It will not be tolerated moving forward.”
Sonstegard also said he shifted Perez’s work schedule so that he can be better supervised and mentored.
The two cases led Jefferson County District Attorney Alexis King to order a review of body camera footage in all cases in which Perez is endorsed as a witness, said Brionna Boatright, spokeswoman for the office.
That review is ongoing and encompasses 80 to 90 cases over the past two years.
Boatright said prosecutors will send out what’s known as a “3.8 letter” to defense attorneys in all open cases in which Perez is an endorsed witness. The letter’s name refers to a section of the Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct for attorneys that requires prosecutors to “make timely disclosure to the defense of all evidence or information known to the prosecutor that tends to negate the guilt of the accused or mitigates the offense.”
There are roughly 30 cases pending in which Perez is an endorsed witness, Boatright said.
Edgewater Police hired Perez in early 2020, several months after he was fired from the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office over concerns about his dealings with people he encountered – in particular, his tone and tenor and his use of his weapon.
In one case, according to documents obtained by 9NEWS Investigates, Perez stopped an “obviously intoxicated” man, pulled his gun, pointed it at the man “gangster style” and threatened him by saying, “I’ll shoot you where you stand, partner.”
Faddis, the former prosecutor turned defense attorney, said that body camera footage can cut both ways.
“You have a ton of great officers out there, and they are doing their job with integrity, and oftentimes the body camera mirrors precisely what is in the reports,” he said.
Then there are cases where what an officer writes in a report isn’t supported by the footage.
“On the cases where it does happen, it is so damaging to the public's trust in law enforcement,” Faddis said.
Contact 9NEWS investigator Kevin Vaughan with tips about this or any story: kevin.vaughan@9news.com or 303-871-1862.