AURORA | The city’s Civil Service Commission upheld a 320-hour suspension Wednesday for an oft-disciplined Aurora cop who shot at a truck full of auto parts thieves.
In the ruling, the commission said Officer John “Chris” Falco disobeyed a department directive when he fired at the vehicle in 2011, killing one suspect and leaving another paralyzed. The commission said Falco was “cavalier” when he opted not to look for cover and instead opened fire on the truck.
Falco has a lengthy discipline history and has been fired before only to have the commission overturn the firing.
In the ruling Wednesday, the commission said Falco’s history of disciplinary issues played a role in their decision to uphold the chief’s 320-hour suspension.
“Falco’s history establishes a pattern of conduct where, even after receiving substantial discipline for violations, Officer Falco repeatedly continues to disregard directives,” the commission wrote.
Former Aurora chief says Officer Falco had ‘toxic’ relationship with other cops
PERRY: Pinch me, I must be dreaming that officer Falco is still haunting Aurora and its police department
The list of infractions Falco has been disciplined for include calling the wounded auto part thief a “marshmallow head” to other officers, babysitting his grandson while on duty, berating a city lawyer, cursing at a teenager during a traffic stop, and using homophobic slurs toward another officer.
Prosecutors ruled Falco and another officer were justified when they fired at the truck and they were not charged with a crime. Still, then-Chief Dan Oates suspended Falco because he fired at a moving vehicle, something a department directive specifically forbids.
Falco’s lawyer did not immediately return a call for comment Wednesday.
MARCH 20, 2011: Officer involved shooting
JULY 5, 2011: DA Siers clears Officers Falco and McIrvin
NOVEMBER 22, 2011: Civil Service Commissioner Deb Wallace screams racism
https://archives.aurorasentinel.com/hp_metro/article_bc913746-1519-11e1-9514-001cc4c002e0.html
Commissioner Ken Sullivan named Chair person
MARCH 8, 2012: Oates fires Falco for firing at a moving vehicle
AUGUST 16, 2012: City Attorney Charlie Richardson slips a letter to influence Civil Service decision on firing of Falco to Ken Sullivan.
Civil Service overturns the firing of Falco.
JANUARY 7, 2014: City Attorney Charlie Richardson and Chief Dan Oates push for a tougher appeal process for cops and firefighters.
FEBRUARY 14, 2014: With the exception of Deb Wallace, Richardson and Council appoint new Commissioners and Deb Wallace becomes the chair person.
MARCH 25, 2014: Charlie Richardson asks Council to talbe his request to toughen appeal process.
APRIL 1, 2014: Charlie Richardson retires as the City Attorney.
MAY 2, 2014: City Council hires Charlie Richardson as an “advisor” to council.
AUGUST 31, 2014: After Chief Dan Oates testifies, I see Civil Service Commission chair person Deb Wallace warmly embracing Dan Oates inside Council Chambers in a giddy fashion.
I did not see Civil Service Commission chair person Deb Wallace warmly embrace Falco in a giddy fashion after he testified.
Deb Wallace should have been recused. Recuse: challenge (a judge, prosecutor, or juror) as unqualified to perform legal duties because of a possible conflict of interest or lack of impartiality.
Deb Wallace on the city council hugs Ex-chief Oates while her job was to be bias and it shows she already made up her mind and needs to be removed for impartial to her duties.
This will come out to the City of Aurora.
Deb Wallace did this with no concern of who would be watching while she hugged OATES and she will know that I have a picture of this, so Deb what do ya think?
City of Aurora Council Board;
Deb Wallace, and the others had all the facts so you are all either really dumb or really influenced. Your decision will probably further help our continued case. How can anyone WIN-LOSE at a their own hearing. Really ??
Actually, going before the Civil Service Commission, gained nothing at all.
I think Perry said in an earlier article that Falco was wasting tax dollars. Wrong.
The person who knew the letter of the law best and followed it was the Division Chief Ken Murphy (at that time). He said the shooting was justified. You know, along with the DA, a District Judge and Civil Service.
It was Division Chief Roger Clod…..um, Cloyd, who challenged Murphy’s finding and put Falco in a position of having to defend himself. I don’t blame Falco one little bit!
Everyone on the department I’ve ever spoken to about Cloyd knows that Murphy on his worst day, was schooled and practiced re: knowledge of law, than Cloyd on his best day.
I think Cloyd’s move was meant to cause undo stress to Falco (wear him out) and also an attempt to diminish the decision making of Murphy.
This part of the decision (overturning Cloyd), wasn’t a win. Civil Service only righted what everyone repeatedly said. The shooting was JUSTIFIED.
OMG…BRANDON & DAVE,
ARE A COMPLETE DOUCHE BAG! THAT’S OKAY WRITE YOUR DIRTY STORIES SOMEDAY SOON YOU WILL REGRET IT AND WILL HAVE TO OBEY A RESTRAINING ORDER HEADED YOUR WAY TO AURORA SENTINEL THEN WHO OR WHAT COP WILL YOU WRITE ABOUT? YOU BOTH REALLY HAVE MENTAL PROBLEMS AND I THINK WHOEVER READS YOUR TRASH ABOUT OFFICER FALCO GETS IT! YOU HATE HIM AND YOUR A LOCAL NEWSPAPER WHO KNOWS NOTHING BUT HOW TO SLANDER PEOPLE YOU JUST WONT STOP WRITING ABOUT A PERSON AND TRULY COPS OF AURORA ARE SICK OF YOU AND I AM. IT DOES NOT HURT US IT’S THE PRINCIPAL TO LOOK INTO A RETRAINING ORDER BECAUSE YOUR TRASH AND YOU BOTH LOOK LIKE IDIOTS…SLANDERING A COP THAT YOU HATE OR YOU DO THIS FOR EX-CHIEF OATES. THATS FINE MIAMI HERALD WILL GET DOCUMENTED PROOF THAT OATES LIED UNDER OATH AND VIOLATED A DIRECTIVE ORDER FROM CSC. HOW ABOUT A TOXIC CHIEF AND HE IS USING YOU AND YOUR NEWSPAPER TO PLAY GAMES. STAY WITH TRUE REAL STORIES TRY TO BE PROFESSIONAL FOR ONCE BECAUSE YOU BOTH LOOK REALLY BAD TO THE PUBLIC EYE. SOMEDAY I HOPE YOU BOTH LOSE YOUR JOBS, DUE TO YOUR DISGRACED DEMEANOR TO A PUBLIC NEWSPAPER OF SHOWING EXPLICIT HATRED OF SOMEONE YOU DONT KNOW BUT ONLY WHAT THE EX-CHIEF TELLS YOU. MIAMI HERALD NEWSPAPER WILL GET THE REAL TRUTH ABOUT THEIR NEW CHIEF AND THEY ARE PROFESSIONAL’S UNLIKE DAVE PERRY AND BRANDON JOHANNSON AFTER SPEAKING WITH THEM.
MRS. FALCO
The Aurora City Council Board of can not give back the decision they made.. .. it makes no sense how can you (win -lose) from a hearing when they know the truth and I am so ashamed of all of you!!! You had all the FACTS PROVEN, and you were not smart enough to latch on or your just really dumb or you sided with the ex-chief. This will all come out at District or Federal court, all of you and many more your all under OATH and you can’t even respect the law.
And, your bashing someone who did.
Wow !!! WE WILL WIN IN THE END, THAT I WILL ASSURE YOU BECAUSE YOUR ALL JUST EVIL PEOPLE.
Think about this Sassy. The Civil Service Commission gets paid by the hour. The 300+ hours of pay lost for Falco is around $13,000.00. Did you really think with an ex-council member (and Oates hugger) Deb Wallace at the helm, the Commission would bite the very hand that feeds it? Not likely at all.
I’ve also given a great deal of thought towards the Aurora Police Association end of this deal. I wonder now if another goal of the Commission and Council, is to force the APA into bankruptcy in the process of providing a legal defense for Falco?
Our attorney would not return a call to dum dums…..why? We are going higher which would be way over your head and the best part is you can’t write no more about him or me, anymore very soon.
All involved will really have to explain all of what they did in a higher court, and all of this scandal will be out on a real newspaper like Denver Post, professional editors.
We are not angry or mad, the city council just made our case easier to pursue it to a higher court with real brains.
I’m angry on behalf of all working/street officers at APD, including Falco. Do any of them (officers) truly get the importance of the outcome in this case?
Both the Civil Service Commission and a District Court Judge, ordered Oates to return Falco to the streets, to work patrol. Oates chose to ignore the Civil Service Commission and to violate the judges order by not doing so.
If a Chief can thumb his nose at the authority of a judge, calling his order absurd, what next? I wonder if this is the first time a judge has issued an order that Oates ignored or found to be absurd?
I’ve seen nothing so far that says Falco will be returned to the street and will resume his previous position of patrol. Will Interim Chief Terry Jones do what is right and respect the order of the judge?
Going even further, where is the City Manager and boss of the Chief of Police in all of this mess? His name was barely mentioned.
We all knew officer falco was cleared and the shooting was justified, the hearing was to get back 320 hours of back pay since he has been back to work for APD, so he lost no big deal we won’t lose any meals over this hearing but its the principal officer Falco and officer McIrvine both shoot at moving vehicle killing and injuring criminals attempting to run over them. I need to know, or we will find out soon how or officer McIrvine got a written reprimand and falco got 2 months off with no pay ? Doesn’t any APD Officer see that this is going to really bring out some serious corruption between love & hate but that’s not the point? It’s who lives or dies when an officer has 51 seconds to make a decision like falco did that night that living was his permission not to die, that decision was cleared and justified. However upper command was caught in many lies to heat up this case and we are going to heat it back up with a higher system and people with real smarts.
Officer Falco is a law enforcement officer for almost 20 years, and he still is proud as I am that he is a real cop and is not in this police corruption, that you all throw lies and blame eachother. We will fight until some of APD staff are fired or jailed under the / C.R.S-perjury and /C.R S-violation of a direct order from civil service commission on ex- chief Oates, that 320 hours will for a true
fact could change. The city pays out 380k on criminals blaming falco and
denies him back pay for clearing his name and a justified shooting. Who will answer that no choice when this officer and his wife sue for much more. Who will be blamed then ??
My extreme props go out to the Falco’s attorney Mr. Brian Reynolds, who performed a phenomenal job at this hearing by proven all the facts
while peter morales aka: peewee herman muffled What if, What if …. to the City Council Peter didn’t prove anything other then what we knew already and all you taxpayers had to pay Peter Morales, city representive wages for a week and half hearing for the city council which turned out to be a waste of our time and insulted the integrity of our attorney, who perform such a factual case, as is he was in a bigger higher court rather than a small city of Aurora room that hold hearings with people such as the City Council, that will never get the picture, that it is Oates who is the one TOXIC with his corruption here that he left, only now to take it to Miami Beach Pd., and your police department better catch this one fast, while OATES uses his charm while stabbing you in the back and changes police policies taken away from cops just so he thinks he has the right to control the officer and department. Miami PD., as I stated you just shook hands with the devil! Again, thank you Mr. REYNOLDS, a real attorney only to be more prepared with smarter people at any other hearing then the City of Aurora, who has tequila pee wee herman like Peter Morales, who did a very pathetic job and manly looking Julie, which I can’t figure out if they are very corrupted very smart, or just very dumb! A Real attorney such as Brian Reynolds belongs in a real courtroom and not some joke hearing that was already set up for fail because they dont have a mind of their own because it was just another set up…..purgery & lies.
Mr. Reynolds your way over their head on proving a factual true case then their cartoon tv hearing and dum dums behind the panel who made a bad decision.
Yours truly,
Chief Dan Oates has proven time and again that when he wants someone out, he will make it happen one way or another.
Adding to my previously posted timeline of events is this little known fact. Officer Marc Sears was fired by Oates for getting a second DUI: https://www.denverpost.com/ci_18203984#disqus_thread
Officer Falco testified in the Sears case as an expert witness on behalf of Sears. Falco’s education is extensive in the field of DUI and as a result of his testimony, Civil Service overturned Sears firing. As you’ll see in the article linked above, this was the second time Civil Service went against mighty Oates. Notice the date this article or overturning by Civil Service happened? *See below timeline, I’ll edit by adding it so you can see why I think that played a role in all this as well. The timing is interesting, isn’t it?
To Brandon Johansson and Dave Perry:
You’ve failed to do your research and present an unbiased accounting of Officer Falcos history for the citizens of Aurora to make an informed decision about his conduct.
While you were busy getting quotes from the likes of Oates and Morales, did you ever approach Officer Falco for comment? I did. If I were the type to make judgements about people based on your reporting, I’d have been terrified to approach this officer. I instead have the gift of curiosity and a will to get to the bottom of things.
I then had the pleasure of talking to Officer Falco and it turns out he is nothing like you’ve painted him to be. He was approachable, polite, and direct with his answers to my questions. Not once did he stumble over or search for words which might indicate an untruth. He looked directly into my eyes and simply answered the question.
Re: Marshmallow head comment: This was said in a moment of upset because officers informed Falco the city had paid off the criminals who tried to run him and McIrvin over.
Re: Teen girl in car: Were you aware that another person testified that Officer Falco was extremely polite to the teen?
Re: Homophobic slur: Officer Falco didn’t aim a slur at that individual. He told a joke among officers not knowing one of them was gay. Upon finding this out, he apoligized to that officer and the apology was accepted. In fact, it wasn’t the gay officer that filed the complaint.
Re: Babysitting while on duty: It was a one time incident. It happened after the municipal building had been emptied for the day and was on lock down for the night. I will respect what little privacy this officer has left by not revealing the reason he had his grandson. I’d like to point out though, that Oates himself brought his daughters to the office fairly often, during the day and while he was on duty.
I didn’t ask about the berating of the city attorney but I will find a way to ask what Falcos side of the story is on that as well. Stand by.
It has been my personal experience as well as others that when Chief Dan Oates dislikes you, he will use damaging terminology, like the use of the word “toxic”, to discredit his percieved enemy.
I found it odd that people automatically believe his every word or, jump on board the Oates train of thinking and ride it to the end of the line just because he opened his mouth and let certain words flop out of it.
If so many cops were afraid of or, complained about or, didn’t want to work with Officer Falco, I’d like to see the reports made to Internal Affairs by said cops.
You won’t find that anyone ever did that.
Sorry Sentinel, I deal in facts not fluff.