Police admit lapses in woman's slaying

Two Colorado Springs police officers "could have done better" in handling the death threat a woman reported before she was slain by her estranged husband in a murder-suicide on March 19.

That was the conclusion of an internal review launched after the afternoon shootings that left Colleen and Russell Dwyer dead outside his house at 2918 Flintridge Square, on the city's northeast side.

The couple had a troubled relationship with a recent history of domestic violence allegations by Colleen Dwyer, who was shot when she arrived to pick up their children.

The probe centered on whether officer Dedra Phillips and her supervisor, Sgt. Dennis Dougan, should have done more when Colleen Dwyer called police two days earlier and reported that Russell Dwyer threatened her, saying, "I hope you are ready to take a bullet."

The comment was made during a phone conversation in which the couple were sparring over their taxes.

Colleen Dwyer said she "kind of took it as a threat," but Phillips, the investigating officer who interviewed the woman, said the statement could have been interpreted as a reference to Colleen Dwyer's tax return.

"Further, I heard the victim talking about another topic and used the phrase, ‘I thought I might have to take a bullet on that one,' in a casual manner of speech," Phillips wrote in her case report.

Without interviewing Russell Dwyer, Phillips concluded there were not grounds for an arrest and advised Colleen Dwyer to seek a restraining order and to contact the police Domestic Violence Emergency Response Team.

Dougan did not urge the officer to investigate further, according to a case summary.

Their handling of the threat "had shortcomings for which they were held accountable," Colorado Springs police Commander Tish Olszewski wrote in a June 3 disposition memo addressed to Chief of Police Richard Myers.

"It was evident that the officer had good intentions on this call for service," Olszewski said in the memo. "However, there were areas where the officer and the reviewing supervisor could have done better."

Police declined to disclose what action was taken against the officers, citing privacy laws.

Nor would they elaborate about the "shortcomings" in the officers' investigation or specify what steps should have been taken.

A three-page summary of the internal review reveals Phillips telephoned a detective with the domestic violence team and briefed her about the case, including the recent allegations of harassment and domestic violence.

The detective's "initial reaction" was that the comment was a threat, and she advised Phillips that domestic abuse victims "tend to minimize things," Lt. Alan Scott wrote in the summary. The Gazette obtained a copy of the report under the Colorado Open Records Act.

Police said Phillips did not have time to complete a referral form asking the domestic violence team to review the case before the end of her shift. She was notified about the murder-suicide the morning after it happened, while she was at home.

"Despite being upset at the deaths, wishing she could have prevented them, and second-guessing herself, (Phillips) believed she had made the right decision on March 17," Scott wrote in the case summary.