MORRISON, Colo. — A Morrison Police officer faces criminal charges after being accused of using his handcuffs on his children, cinching them “tight enough to cause pinch marks on their wrists,” 9NEWS Investigates learned.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by 9NEWS Investigates, large portions of which were redacted, Richard Norton was also accused of telling his children that he would break into his ex-wife’s home “to kill her and her husband” and that “he wanted to murder someone so he could see what it felt like.”
A message left Friday afternoon with an attorney representing Norton was not immediately returned.
According to court records, Norton appeared before a judge on Nov. 4 on suspicion of child abuse and unlawful storage of a weapon.
Morrison Police Chief Bill Vinelli told 9NEWS Investigates on Friday that he placed Norton on unpaid leave “about a week ago," but declined to comment further.
Norton had previously served as a Broomfield Police officer, resigning in 2022 after an internal investigation found that he’d violated five different department policies. The investigation found that he “sent inappropriate and unwanted messages of a sexual nature to four of your female co-workers” and that his “actions created an intimidating, hostile, and offensive working environment.”
The chief of Broomfield Police notified Norton that he would be terminated. Norton resigned before that happened.
Those circumstances required Vinelli to justify hiring him to the Colorado Peace Officers Standards and Training board, which certifies law officers in the state.
“The Morrison Police Department feels that the information we have gathered does not preclude him from being a good fit as an officer for our department,” Vinelli wrote.