FEDERAL HEIGHTS, Colo. — Investigators with the 17th Judicial District Attorney's Office found "significant problems" in the Federal Heights Police Department after being asked to review a backlog of felony cases being handled by the department, the office said Monday.
The investigation began in April and included a review of cases from 2020, 2021 and 2022. The investigators didn't look at every case from that time period but focused on "persons crimes" cases, District Attorney Brian Mason said in an emailed letter Oct. 31 to Federal Heights Interim Chief of Police Robert Grado.
"In short, my team noted very serious failures in the investigation of felony cases in Federal Heights by the Federal Heights Police Department," Mason wrote in the letter. "Alarmingly, this included lack of investigation into serious felony crimes and lack of follow-up with victims of serious crimes, including sexual assaults, sexual assaults on children and other violent crimes."
According to the letter, the review also "revealed significant problems with record keeping, staffing, and personnel management."
"This is deeply alarming to me and causes me significant concern," Mason wrote in the letter.
Mason wrote the review also found the department is "woefully understaffed."
"Reports that the two detectives employed by FHPD are only permitted to work 40 hours a week and are then asked to go home are alarming to me as well, as two detectives are woefully inadequate to investigate the level of crime in Federal Heights – and their inability to work overtime makes the city less safe," Mason wrote.
Grado told 9NEWS on Monday that his department was referring questions to city management.
In an email, City Manager Jacqueline Halburnt said Federal Heights is very concerned and they have been working to figure out how to move forward and fix whatever is wrong.
"We hired a consultant about two weeks ago for professional advice on overall staffing levels in the PD; and furthermore, due to the seriousness of the matter, we also made arrangements to hire a retired major crimes supervisor from a large metropolitan police department," Halburnt said. "He’s been hired to specifically look at backlogs, work flow, and case load in the division. Also, the PD had already applied for (about five months ago) and was recently awarded, a sexual assault police detective grant through the U.S. Department of Justice, office on Violence Against Women (VAWA) that begins in 2024 to fund another detective."
The review came after the interim police chief "expressed concerns about the department's backlog of serious felony cases and the status of their investigations," and asked the DA's office to review the cases, the letter says.
That request came from then-Interim Police Chief Mike Domenighini in April. The office agreed to conduct the review "in the interest of public safety," the district attorney's office said in a statement Monday.
"In many ways, based on this report, I do not have confidence that the FHPD can properly investigate a serious felony case at this time," Mason wrote in the letter. "Furthermore, I have serious concerns about community safety in the city of Federal Heights."
Mason wrote that he has referred the findings to the Colorado Attorney General's Office and the Colorado Department of Criminal Justice Office of Victims Programs "for potential further investigation and review."
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