GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. — Denver District Attorney Beth McCann has decided no charges are warranted for Arapahoe County Sheriff Tyler Brown after a dispute at a Greenwood Village business – but called his behavior “irresponsible and unprofessional.”
Brown was the subject of a criminal investigation after a fight Aug. 21 at Pindustry, a business that features games and a restaurant. The incident was caught on surveillance video obtained by 9Wants to Know.
An evening of fun at Pindustry went off the rails after a man approached the sheriff's wife, trying to get her phone number, according to a police report obtained by 9Wants to Know. A fight broke out, and surveillance video captured Brown grabbing another man by the neck.
According to the police report, Brown later denied being the aggressor, telling the Greenwood Village police chief, "I didn't grab anybody by the throat."
"You did," the chief responded. "I am looking at the video right now."
Among the reasons McCann could not file charges, according to a news release from her office, was the fact that “all parties were drinking, and their testimony is not reliable.”
Brown told police he'd had five to six drinks over a few hours.
McCann's office also said the others involved in the dispute did not want charges filed, and it wasn’t likely prosecutors could obtain a conviction before a jury.
A spokeswoman for Brown’s office provided the following statement about the decision not to charge him.
“Sheriff Brown would like to thank the Denver District Attorney’s Office for conducting an unbiased review of the incident. This was an unfortunate event that put the sheriff in the unwelcome position of having to protect and defend his wife. Sheriff Brown trusts the legal process and is looking forward to putting these events behind him.”
In the statement, McCann said, “Having concluded that criminal charges are not warranted, I want to make it clear that the behavior of Sheriff Brown in this situation was irresponsible and unprofessional for an elected sheriff."
“I am not in a position to take any further action with regard to this situation as my role is to determine if criminal charges should be filed. I will leave any further action to the officials and voters of Arapahoe County.”
“I want to recognize the thorough, professional and unbiased investigation conducted by the men and women of Greenwood Village Police Department regarding this incident,” McCann said. “The officers and detectives who handled this investigation pursued all avenues to determine what happened and Chief Dustin Varney and his team did outstanding work.”
A decision about filing charges for an incident in Greenwood Village would normally fall to John Kellner, the district attorney for Arapahoe County. However, he turned the case over to Denver, releasing a statement that stressed “my office's close working relationship with Sheriff Brown and the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office.”
In his own statement released after the dispute became public, Brown said he wasn’t aware of the details of the allegations and stressed that he had “fully cooperated with police.”
Contact 9Wants to Know investigator Kevin Vaughan with tips about this or any story: kevin.vaughan@9news.com or 303-871-1862.
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