Perea resigns as Denver safety manager - The Denver Post

Perea resigns as Denver safety manager - The Denver Post

Denver Manager of Safety Ron Perea, who has come under fire for his decisions in two police discipline cases, has resigned his post effective Aug. 31, the city announced this afternoon.

"Ron came to Denver with all of the right credentials and experience to lead the Department of Safety," Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper said in a release. "He feels that the events of the past few days have limited his ability to gain community confidence. "

On Saturday The Denver Post reported Perea, who was hired earlier this year, was being criticized for a ruling in an abuse case that the city's Independent Police Monitor and Citizen Oversight Board worried could undermine a new discipline system.

He met Friday in a closed-door session with the board and independent monitor Richard Rosenthal to defend his decision to give Officer Eric Sellers a suspension of 45 days without pay for "inappropriate force" and "commission of a deceptive act."

The board unanimously decided to issue a report disagreeing with Perea's discipline of Sellers. The board never publicly criticized the decisions of former Safety Manager Al LaCabe during the seven years he held the post.

Roxane White, the mayor's chief of staff, said late Friday that Perea was "seriously reconsidering his decision."

David Bruno, the lawyer for the Denver Police Protective Association said Sellers met with Perea earlier today and was told that the earlier decision had been rescinded. He said Sellers was not told what the new decision was.

Bruno said that in his more than 30 years representing police officers in discipline cases, he had never seen one where a decision was rescinded or reopened for investigation.

Perea earlier this month came under fire in a separate, highly publicized case in which he issued light discipline in a police beating caught on video.

Perea previously worked in the Los Angeles office of the U.S. Secret Service and was special agent in charge of the Secret Service's Denver field office, which is responsible for protective and investigative operations in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Idaho. While in Denver, he was the special agent in charge during the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

Deputy Manager of Safety Mary Malatesta will take over as interim Manager of Safety until a new Manager can be found, the Mayor's office said. No timeline has been created for a search process.