CBI report finds no wrongdoing in Hooters investigation

Two undercover detectives who were videotaped drinking alcohol while investigating a Hooters restaurant, sparking an internal review of police procedures and triggering national media attention on Colorado Springs, have been cleared of any wrongdoing.

However, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, which launched its review of the Metro Vice, Narcotics and Intelligence Division in September, recommended that police tighten procedures to improve liquor code investigations.

Among the recommendations: Metro VNI “should implement a mechanism of monitoring the sobriety/impairment of undercover officers,” including restricting one officer from drinking alcohol during investigations or limiting the number of bars where officers can drink during a given shift.

“This kind of review is healthy and contributes to our efforts to ensure that the City is delivering the best possible service to the community,” Mayor Steve Bach said in a statement.

But attorney Pat Mika, who represented the Hooters waitress accused of serving a visibly intoxicated patron, a charge the city dropped after the restaurant produced a video of the incident, called the CBI investigation a “whitewashing.”

“This is a disgraceful example of a lack of accountability that this community has time and time again been forced to accept by people in the law enforcement community, by the bad law enforcement officers in this community,” Mika said.

“Instead of demanding higher standards, the people in law enforcement are willing to lower the bar to meet the unacceptable conduct of bad police officers.”

Police Chief Pete Carey said he believed the CBI, which he called “one of the finest investigative agencies in the state,” conducted an objective investigation.

“I think it was beneficial. There are obviously things we need to tighten up and do better as far as our procedures and requirements for our officers,” he said.

El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa agreed.

VNI includes  sheriff’s deputies and city police who  enforce liquor laws.

“It’s unfortunate that it took something like that incident to take a step back and look at VNI.

A lot of little lessons came out of this,”  Maketa said. “Some of our policies were not up to date and really set the detectives up for failure.”

Carey stopped short of saying all recommendations would be implemented.

“Generally speaking, most of these make sense to me,” he said. “We’ve already put a lot of that stuff into play, but I can’t say for sure that every single thing (will be implemented) without sitting down with my Metro VNI commander.”

Carey said the Hooters case, which was featured on ABC’s 20/20, hurt the department’s reputation.

“I’m concerned that our trust needs to be reestablished with the community,” he said.

On June 23, two VNI detectives – Jeff True and Greg Young – went to Hooters at The Citadel mall with an underage confidential informant, who tried to purchase alcohol but was “properly denied,” the report stated.

Instead of leaving, the detectives sat down and ordered appetizers and beer.

The detectives told CBI investigators two men at a nearby table were “using obscene language and were audibly intoxicated.”

The detectives concluded that one man was drunk because he  was staggering and using chairs for balance. After the detectives filed their report, the City Attorney’s Office went after Hooters and waitress Illysa Medina.

But after Hooters produced a surveillance video, which showed the alleged drunk patron walking what appeared to be a straight line, the City Attorney’s Office dismissed both cases.

Senior City Prosecutor Anthony Moore told the CBI that the video was inconclusive and neither confirmed nor contradicted detectives.

“But for the defense, it creates reasonable doubt,” Moore told investigators.

The case against Medina took another twist amid revelations that city prosecutor Elliot Faden provided false information when he assured a judge that the detectives weren’t drinking.

Fladen sent True two  emails “requesting confirmation” that information in a  motion was accurate.

When Fladen, who was new, didn’t receive a response, he called True, who told him they didn’t drink alcohol at Hooters “or something along those lines,” the report states. True told investigators he believed Fladen was asking him whether they were intoxicated.

“Fladen and True are the only direct witnesses to this conversation. Each remains convinced of what they believed they said/heard at the time,” the report states.

“The review team believes Detective True did not carefully read it in its entirety prior to confirming its accuracy with Mr. Fladen on the telephone immediately after it was sent, trusting in the prosecutor’s ability.”  

In a news release, the city said  detectives “did not provide any inaccurate or untruthful testimony in court or administrative hearings.” The CBI report notes that the detectives never testified.

The detectives “didn’t have the courage to get on the witness stand,” said Mika, the waitress’ attorney.

“It’s no surprise to me that an ineffective government law enforcement agency such as CBI finds no fault with one of its own,” Mika said. “But the citizens of this community and citizens through the country that become aware of this story know the truth.”

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Gazette reporter Matt Steiner contributed to this report.

CBI recommendations for MVNI

Recommendations that have been implemented:

• Detectives should obtain receipts for all purchases
• Detectives are encouraged to use audio and video for evidence
• Sobriety of undercover detectives will be monitored
• Detectives will document alcohol ordered and/or consumed by undercover officers

Recommendations that will be reviewed for implementation

• MVNI should address the need for involvement by marked patrol units for citation and transport of violators
• Detectives should immediately cite violators in cases of underage drinking
• Detectives should obtain surveillance video from business under investigation