Denver safety manager quits Malatesta is third to leave post since June - The Denver Post
Denver safety manager quits Malatesta is third to leave post since June - The Denver Post Denver Manager of Safety Mary Malatesta announced Thursday that she is resigning from the position for personal reasons. It is the third resignation in less than a year by the city's manager of safety, a position that is the civilian authority over the Denver police, fire and sheriff's departments. Al LaCabe retired in June. His replacement, Ron Perea, resigned amid controversy in August. Malatesta sent a letter of resignation Thursday afternoon to Mayor Bill Vidal's office, saying "members of my family need my immediate help." Malatesta said her position is too important and that there are "numerous issues which require the presence and full attention of the manager of safety." Vidal issued a news release Thursday, saying he will appoint a new manager of safety soon. Malatesta's last day is March 12. "The Department of Safety and the Office of the Independent Monitor will continue their steadfast progress on the resolution of outstanding discipline cases under review," Vidal's release said. "The mayor wants Denver citizens to know that Manager Malatesta's retirement will not slow the work being done to bring those cases to fair resolution." LaCabe said he would not return to the position. Malatesta replaced Perea, who resigned amid controversy that arose when he did not fire police officers who were caught on tape beating a man in Lower Downtown. The city reopened an internal investigation in that case. Sources on Thursday said the internal probe in that case has been completed, and it is set to be reviewed by Police Chief Gerry Whitman. The next stage is for the safety manager to make the final determination. Also, another internal investigation into the jail death of Marvin Booker, a 56-year-old homeless preacher, is continuing. Booker had been arrested last summer on suspicion of possessing drug paraphernalia. He died after getting in a scuffle with deputies, who shocked him with a Taser, struck him in the legs with nunchucks, put him in a carotid "sleeper hold" and lay on top of him in an effort to control him. He stopped breathing.
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