AURORA | The case of an Aurora police officer reinstated after being fired for making crude remarks about a man he shot could have lasting impacts on future police discipline cases.
Officer Chris Falco was fired in 2012 for several violations, including calling a suspect he shot a “marshmallow head” and babysitting his grandson while at work. The city’s Civil Service Commission overturned Falco’s firing and reinstated him last year, a decision the city has appealed in Arapahoe County District Court.
Aurora City Attorney Charlie Richardson said that as a result of the Falco case, the city’s legal team and the Civil Service Commission are negotiating some changes in how the commission operates in cases like these and what their authority is.
Richardson described the details being discussed as “abstract legal issues relating to the scope of authority of the commission” and declined to get into specifics. He said City Council will likely make a decision on the ongoing negotiations sometime in August.
The city has argued since Falco’s reinstatement that the commission overstepped its authority when it handed down the ruling and reinstated the fired officer. In particular, the city has argued the commission didn’t have the authority to order the city to pay for counseling for Falco, something the commission also ordered in its ruling.
Scott Krob, the lawyer representing the commission, did not return a call for comment this week.
The city is still appealing Falco’s reinstatement as well.
Richardson said the two sides have filed written arguments in Arapahoe County District Court. A judge will decide, likely later this year, whether there will be oral arguments in court.
Falco gained notoriety in 2011 after he and another officer opened fire on a group of thieves who tried to speed away from a parking lot where they were stealing auto parts. Oleg Gidenko was killed and Yevgeni Straystar was wounded.
Prosecutors cleared Falco and the other officer of criminal wrongdoing in that case, but the city settled out of court with Gidenko’s family and Straystar, stipulating that the officers violated a department rule against firing at moving vehicles.
Falco wasn’t fired specifically for his role in the shooting, but he was disciplined in part for calling a gravely wounded Straystar a “marshmallow head” to another officer while discussing the city’s settlement.
If you stumble across this article, I want to be sure you understand what happened here.
The firing of Officer Falco was overturned by the Civil Service Commission. The D.A. found the shooting to be justified. A judge also found the shooting to be justified. They all got it right.
Our arrogant chief of police, has written a policy that says an officer can’t discharge their weapon into a moving car. I believe the violation of his policy is the real reason behind the chief wanting Falco fired.
The term “marshmallow head” being said to another officer is just an excuse to justify the firing of this officer in my opinion.
Last night during the televised study session, Charlie Richardson looked like he was going to blow an artery when he couldn’t get council to make a choice concerning enhancement of the chief’s power to fire. As I recall Charlie said it wasn’t fair to the chief if Civil Service could overturn him when he fires an officer.
Question: Is it fair to our officers if their next line of defense after being fired is to be unemployed AND have to hire an attorney to battle the chief in court? It makes perfect sense that Civil Service look at the evidence, and decide if the chief is being reasonable or not. If not, give the officer his/her job back to them and let’s all move on.