Posted on 03/23/2005 3:21:02 PM PST by billorites
Police Chief Gerry Whitman recommended that Ranjan Ford Jr. receive a 30-day suspension for shooting and killing an unarmed invalid last summer.
That Monday recommendation is 10 days more than the suspension Whitman recommended for officer James Turney, who fatally shot Paul Childs, a developmentally disabled teen, in July 2003.
"I think a 30-day suspension is an arbitrary and capricious number," said Mike Mosco, president of the Denver Police Protective Association "We stand behind Ranjan and we are going to ensure that his due process rights are protected and enforced."
The mother of Lobato's three children, Christina Gomez, said Wednesday she couldn't believe Whitman's suggested discipline.
"This is absurd, unbelievable," said Gomez, reached at her home in Sacramento, Calif. "(Ford) should be fired - off the force completely."
If it were someone other than a law enforcement officer who fired the fatal shot, he would be in jail and not given a slap on the wrist, she said.
"Because (Ford) is a police officer doesn't give them the right to excuse him," she said. "There should be criminal charges against him."
Whitman remained tight-lipped Wednesday about his recommendation to Manager of Safety Al LaCabe, who makes the final decision on police discipline, but three police sources verified that it was 30 days.
News of the recommendation quickly spread throughout the police department. A fax sent out from District Six asked officers to donate to a fund established to help with Ford's expenses if the recommended suspension goes through.
LaCabe has 15 days from the day he received the recommendation in which to make the final decision in the case and write a report.
Lobato, 63, was shot July 11 in a west Denver home as he lay in bed watching television, after Ford apparently mistook a soda can in the man's hand for a weapon.
Ford had climbed into the home through a second-floor window to search for Lobato's nephew in connection with a domestic violence call. Police were unaware that the nephew had fled the home.
Two police supervisors who were at the home when the decision was made to go through the window were given oral reprimands for their role in the incident.
In December, a grand jury decided not to indict Ford in the shooting, and then-District Attorney Bill Ritter declined to file charges.
In January, the American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to Ritter's office challenging the fact that the case file would remain closed because a grand jury had reviewed it.
On March 4, the district attorney's office responded, saying the case file would be available to the public following LaCabe's decision.
Mark Silverstein, legal director of ACLU of Colorado, raised concerns that the decision to wait until after the internal affairs investigation is concluded was a shift in policy.
But Deputy District Attorney Chuck Lepley said Wednesday that the Lobato case was being handled differently because of many unique aspects. "This is not a change in policy," he said. "We want the public to know everything they can about a (police-involved shooting) case."
The district attorney's office is in the process of reviewing the case file to see which portions can be opened to public review, Lepley said.
He said the intention is to have the case file ready for review when LaCabe makes his decision.
Ford, a Denver police officer since 2001, is back on the job, but not on patrol duty. He has declined to discuss the case with reporters.
The shooting could lead to federal action. Lobato family attorney Kenneth Padilla said Lobato's relatives may file a federal civil rights lawsuit. The Department of Justice also is weighing whether to intervene.
Lobato's death has been especially difficult on Gomez's three children, Frank Jr., 28, Anthony, 26, and Barbara, 25, whose feeling range from anger to sadness, she said.
Lobato's sister, Esperanza "Hope" Gonzales, of Thornton, was also surprised by the news, saying it's not enough punishment.
Correspondent Marilyn Robinson contributed to this report.
Umm dude what country do you think you are living in? The cops have been above the law since the early 80s when the war on drugs got kicked up a notch there have been hundreds of unarmed people killed by the police in the last 20-30 years or so and i can rember a total of 5 going to jail for it and one of those five was only for 4 years and he was out in 2
And here I just had my en-gin revved up to serve a few myself.
I guess it's inevitable that the topic would go flat, but I didn't expect that it'd fizzle out so soon. I figured its pop-ularity would last a little longer. Just goes to show you that sometimes the Barq of a topic is worse than its bite. This place is just full of these little Jolts of reality.
Whatever. I'm not keeping my opinions bottled up, regardless. I think it's un-can-ny that this cop excused his behavior by saying he could see the guy 'pointing' the beverage at him. I can't even figure out how you'd point a soda can--it's just too much to swallow.
...I guess I'm like a Coke addict that keeps being recycled. I know it's not very cola but I just can't seem to put a lid on it, although I Fanta-size about being able to.
That's okay. IBCing the same compulsion in my own words. RC the other posts in this vein for even better examples. It'd be nice to be able to stop these from pouring out, but I'm tired...
and I think that'd take a lot more Pep, see?
But I do need to stop for a little while, since I'm at work and I gotta a lot of paperwork with filing deadlines today...
and I got a Mountain due.
Yoo hoo can continue doing these, more power to you. I got too much work Crush-ing down on me, and Dasani the tip of the iceberg. I might be laid back about getting it done personally, but I'm afraid of my boss getting angry if I don't get it done, so...
you could say I'm Mello, Yello.
My head just exploded.
Of course it is. That and the very likely proposition that ford had enough dirt on others in the force that they didn't dare fire him. Happens all the time in law enforcement agencies; along with judges and prosecutors.
Okay Buds, I came back after a couple of hours away and see this still going on -- I feel I should Schlitz my wrists. If this a-Piels to you, okay, if you have that rye sense of humor. But at this point I'm barley awake and when I look at the screen I feel I should lager off. Better hop to it.
Hey, grin and Beer it like the rest of us! If it's really putting you on your Duff, put a little Dab of smelling salts under your nose, and that'll lift you right off your Heineken. I have Schnapps yet begun to pun.
You can come back later, too, cause Ale line of humor like this will Still be Fermenting. It's Wort-h thinking about it.
But if you gotta leave, if you're sick of it, I understand. IPA a lot of folks off this way. It takes a Stout heart to put up with too much punning, and frankly, it puts some people's Bock up, gets them really Steamed. One too many Weiss cracks can overload ya. Do what Chimay, but Double Bock if you change your mind. Alt-bi-h[er]e, still Portering around.
Awwwww, his eyeglasses were all fogged up. Oopsie.
What a Hamm you are!! Of Coors, you put your reputation in Pearl when you pun like that. Tuborg or not Tuborg, that is the question.
I'm a Hamm, speedy? Well, I am gonna bend over Amber my Heinie and show you a pressed Hamm! And you keep Fostering discontent like this, I'll give you a Shiner!
I think Joe 6-Pack quit--Asahi cranially exploded a while back. But Reinheitsgebot enough of you and your Busch league puns. Amstel waiting for you to come up with one worth reading, because almost all yours have been adequate, Budvar from good. Abita million bucks you can't top mine--I'm the Lone Star around here. Saranac for doing this, and I'm Sharp-est at it, and that'll probably make you Weinhard, but it's okay. Punning with me will make you older Budweiser.
Okay, it's the next morning and I've run out of beers. What can you do with Chateauneuf du Pape?
Dunno, Abbey Ale out of them myself. And I ain't just whistling Dixie! : )
Okay, I'm Carling it a day. It's been a real Blatz from the Pabst.
Well I'm in on the end of this one you guys have run the gamut. Not much left for me to say. This is what happens when you you work a thread like this with so much pep. See?
Like he respected his victim's due process rights ?
LOL
Well, it's Kirin me to admit it, but this subject has dug deep into my Sol. I'm either a Sapporo nother kinda sucker, but I have just enjoyed punning about beer with you guys so much [sniff]. I don't want to Harp on it, because I Moretti getting a little maudlin, but I feel like if I have a Piron this board, it's the Bloc of Freepers right here.
Here's to you, gents!
What a Hudepohl Swan song after a Stella performance of punning. Mud in your eye, friend.
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