The Greeley Police Department recentlycompleted an internal investigation into an incident in June and concluded oneof its officers violated agency policy when he arrested a local woman onsuspicion of һɑгɑѕѕᴍᴇпт.
Patrol officer Casey Barnum wassubsequently re-assigned to desk duty pending the investigation into theincident involving Greeley resident Rose Perez. On Friday, Sgt. Joe Tymkowych,spokesman for Greeley police, said Barnum is no longer an officer with thedepartment.
Tymkowych declined to elaborate, sayinghe couldn’t provide specifics about Barnum’s departure because it’s a personnelmatter.
Greeley Tribune received on Oct. 30 a summary of Greeley police’s internal affairs investigation report into the June incident after filing a Colorado Open Records Act request in accordance with a recently passed state law making internal investigations open to the public. The Greeley Tribune also received body-worn camera footage from Perez. The footage came from Barnum’s body camera.
At 11:14 a.m. June 28, Barnum respondedto an apartment in the 3700 block of W. 25th Street on a report of a complaintinvolving a 16-year-old boy. Perez’s son had called Weld County Dispatch fromthe apartment complex’s main office to report he missed a court date thatmorning in Adams County because his mother had kicked him out of the house andrefused to drive him to his hearing.
The boy and the nature of his criminalcase in Adams County are not being identified because he is a minor.
When Barnum arrived at the apartment, Perez stepped outside into the hallway and the two had a conversation about her son. Perez told Barnum she had just returned from Adams County where her son had a court hearing, but failed to appear.
Thinking he was investigating a possible child neglect case, Barnum asked why Perez kicked her son out of the house. Perez responded by saying her son is a runaway who is constantly getting into trouble with the law. She also said her son has ᴠɪᴏʟᴇпт tendencies and has been ᴠɪᴏʟᴇпт around her two small children, ages 2 and 3 years old.
Perez pointed out damage to her frontdoor her son caused in the past trying to break into the apartment. She notedon another occasion her son kicked the front door off of its hinges.
Barnum then interrupted by saying – inaccurately – that as a resident of the apartment and a minor, Perez’s son had every right to be inside the home, even if it meant kicking the door down to gain entry. Perez disagreed and attempted to end the conversation by walking back into her apartment.
But Barnum prevented Perez from closingthe door with his foot in an attempt to keep the conversation going. Perezquickly turned and pushed Barnum back out into the hallway. He grabbed her armsand placed Perez in handcuffs, telling her she was under arrest for harassmentor possibly for ɑѕѕɑᴜʟтɪпɡ an officer.
“I know a lot about the law,” Perez said in a recent interview with the Greeley Tribune, adding she once studied to be a paralegal. “I know an officer can’t come into my home unless I invite him or if he has probable cause, sees something illegal or has a warrant.
“It’s a fight or flight reaction. You’renot seeing a badge. All you’re seeing is a grown man forcing his way into yourhome.”
Barnum placed Perez in the back of hiscruiser, at which point she demanded to speak with his supervisor, Sgt. WadeCorliss. About an hour later, after numerous conversations with Barnum and hisown bosses, Corliss directed Barnum to free Perez.
The incident prompted a personal visitfrom Greeley police Chief Mark Jones and Deputy Chief Adam Turk. On Sept. 20,the department sent a letter to Perez stating the incident had beeninvestigated and the agency deemed Barnum’s actions “were not appropriate oraccording to department policy.” But the letter didn’t state whether or notBarnum had been disciplined.
After hearing for the first time on Friday Barnum is no longer with Greeley police, Perez said it made her feel like agency officials took her complaint seriously. But she still plans to pursue legal action against the department, not just because she says she sustained an injury to her wrist during her altercation with Barnum, but to continue to raise awareness about incidents of abuse between police and the community.
“All I can say is I’m really lucky wehave a new policy requiring officers to wear body cameras,” Perez said.”Without that footage, it would have been my word against his.
“I might not be here right now. I couldbe in jail or prison for ɑѕѕɑᴜʟтɪпɡ a police officer.”
Watch the video below:
