Firing of former Denver police officer Brian Beary over 'deception' upheld

DENVER -- The termination of a Denver police officer has been upheld by a Civil Service Commission hearing officer.

Former officer Brian Beary was accused of "being deceptive" about his interactions with a female teenage runaway in September 2015 at the Arapahoe County Juvenile Assessment Center (JAC).

Mental health specialist Meredith Slocum wrote in her incident report that the "youth is pleasant and polite upon arrival. She answers all medical questions and does not require medical clearance."

However, when the runaway refused to take out her piercings, per JAC policy, the girl argued with Beary, Slocum said.

Slocum's report said:

Officer Beary tells her 'you aren't in control here even though you want to be, you don't know everything.' Youth yells at officer and says, "I can say whatever the f--- I want.'

Officer Beary continues to antagonize youth calling her a 'brat' and telling her she does not have any control. Youth gets to the point of escalation and screams at Officer Beary 'f--- you.'

The report says Slocum called for another deputy for assistance.

That deputy and Officer Beary took the girl "to the ground in a hold" to remove the piercings.

Slocum's report said the two [Beary and the juvenile] continued to argue. "He continued to insult her on a personal level" and he "continued to threaten youth with charges of resisting arrest."

Bilingual assessment specialist Kayla Duran testified that Beary told the girl, "they would have to rip the piercings out of her face" and that "she was a brat, a mooch off of society, that he understood why her mother wouldn't pick her up and that he was saving her from being raped and trafficked."

Slocum said Beary told her "people are being shot and they are down two officers because he is here dealing with this situation" and left even though it was against policy.

In Beary's statement to the Internal Affairs Bureau, he said, "M [the teenager] would not negotiate about her piercings and I tried to with her for about another 20 minutes. As staff reached another standstill and appeared unsure of what to do, I asked if there was someone else they could call. Another Deputy came to assist. I switched handcuffs with the Deputy. I then advised staff that my involvement was completed, as all necessary paperwork has been signed."

Beary's supervisor told the Internal Affairs Bureau, "Brian did not want to take her jewelry off forcefully, and I concurred that that would not be appropriate."

Beary told investigators, "that at no time was he annoyed or angry."

Beary denied saying that "he" would rip out the piercings, and said that he did not recall whether he told MM [the juvenile] that she was a mooch on society, or that he told MM that he could arrest her for resistance.

The hearing officer ruled that Beary provided false statements during the Internal Affairs investigation, which included discourtesy and inappropriate force, and that Beary "thereby knowingly committed a materially deceptive act."

The hearing officer upheld the decision that Beary violated RR-112.2 - Commission of a Deceptive Act and the penalty is termination.

Beary can appeal the decision within 15 days.