DENVER -- If a police officer in Colorado is found guilty of domestic violence in a criminal court, he or she will lose their job. But the CALL7 Investigators have learned that may not happen if the domestic violence is uncovered in a civil court.

Vanessa told 7NEWS that her ex-boyfriend, Jason Dale, made her fear for her life.

"He would hurt me, he would hurt himself, he would threaten suicide and when he would say something like 'I know where to hide the body,' it really made me think he could do something like that to me."

Dale is a Denver Police officer and the two have a child together.

Vanessa asked that we not use her last name.

"Were you worried that he might kill you?" asked CALL7 Investigator John Ferrugia.

"I was worried that he would kill me and then himself and the baby," said Vanessa.

That's why, she says, on two occasions in 2009, she called 911 to report Dale. She called once because, she said, he violated a temporary restraining order and blocked her in a driveway.

The second call, she says, was for domestic violence.

Dale was not arrested.

"I believe he wasn't arrested because he's a police officer," said Vanessa.

"Do you believe he should have been arrested for domestic violence?" asked Ferrugia.

"Yes. On both occasions," replied Vanessa.

Police records indicate Dale was not arrested because there was no proof of physical violence to her or to their property - a claim Vanessa disputes.

During a hearing in Weld County Court in Oct. 2009, a judge determined that Dale "presents a danger to Vanessa," and granted her a permanent restraining order barring him from having any contact with her or coming within 100 yards of Vanessa.

The court record said, Dale would get angry and pull Vanessa's hair, push her, bang his own head against walls, put holes in walls, threaten suicide, leave shotgun shells for her to find, and threw her dog against a wall.

In the record, Dale admits to some of the behavior but says he never physically hurt Vanessa and never intended to harm her or intimidate her in any way.

He explained the dog, a Chihuahua, was sitting on a pillow that he had grabbed and the dog "went into the wall." He said, it was not intentional and the dog was not harmed.

The judge did not believe him.

In issuing the permanent restraining order the judge said, "I find by a preponderance of the evidence that the respondent has committed acts of domestic violence," and the judge indicated that she would check the "Brady box" on the permanent restraining order.

The "Brady box" comes from the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act and, if checked, would have cost Dale his job.

The box was not checked in what the court later called, "a clerical error."

Both sides were called back to court, at which time the judge said she would "correct" the error, but Dale's attorney argued that none of the domestic incidents involved a gun and should the judge check the box, Dale would lose his job.

"We're just begging, Your Honor, to please don't check that Brady box," said Dale's attorney.

It was not checked.

Federal law says, anyone under a court order that "includes a finding that such person represents a credible threat to the physical safety of such intimate partner or child," can not possess a firearm or ammunition.

"We're kind of looking at officers who might have had domestic violence issues and... just wonder if you should still be an officer and still carry a gun?" Ferrugia asked Dale outside a home in Greeley.

"I have no comment on that sir," said Dale as he prepared to pull his car out of the driveway.

"Do you feel like you should be able to carry a gun?" Ferrugia asked again.

"Yes, sir," replied Dale.

"Are you afraid you're going to lose your job?" asked Ferrugia.

Dale said, "Of course I am and I never did anything."

Denver Manager of Safety Al LaCabe told Ferrugia, "It may very well be that that is a case that was able to, for lack of a better term, slip through the cracks and we should have a better procedure in place."

LaCabe would not talk specifically about Dale or his case, but did discuss the issue of police officers with restraining orders.

"The question is, should the department be concerned about this kind of conduct if, in fact, it happens off-duty and the answer is yes, absolutely," said LaCabe.

Right now, Denver police only know about officers with civil restraining orders if there is an outside complaint or if the officer self-reports to his or her supervisor.

But, there is no requirement for the supervisor to pass that information up the chain of command or to Internal Affairs.

"Do you think there's value in tracking restraining orders in a police department?" asked Ferrugia.

"Absolutely, I think we should know the facts and circumstances of the conduct of our officers that may have, and I underline, may have some bearing on their performance as police officers," said LaCabe.

The CALL7 Investigators have learned the Denver Police Department does not track who has a civil restraining order, why they have it, or how many officers in its employ have one.

"It's like any behavior. If an officer doesn't self-report, or if no one reports it to us, there's really no way for us to know," said LaCabe.

Civil restraining orders are noted in the Colorado courts database which is available to the public and police departments, but the department would have input each officer's name and date of birth on a routine basis to learn if there is a restraining order.

The state judicial department will do a "sweep" of all employees of a police department, however, that will only turn up criminal cases. Civil restraining orders, permanent or temporary, are not subject to the "sweep."

Jason Dale did report his restraining order to his supervisor, but no action was taken.