LAKEWOOD, Colo. — Colorado’s Department of Public Safety executive director said his office has changed policy following a series of Denver7 Investigates reports and a third-party review into a Colorado Bureau of Investigation agent using a racial slur that was captured on a body-worn camera in early 2024.
However, Executive Director Stan Hilkey said CBI Director Chris Schaefer’s decision to retire next month is unrelated to this incident or any other accusations recently investigated in that third-party review. Hilkey’s office oversees the CBI.
Informed sources and insiders told Denver7 Investigates last fall that they believed CBI Agent Doug Pearson received preferential treatment after he was recorded using a racial slur against Black people on body-worn camera while on a stakeout.
The sources said that Pearson and Schaefer are good friends and that any other agent would have been fired after an incident like that. CBI maintained that Pearson was disciplined but would not disclose details of his punishment. After the initial report, Pearson was reassigned to a desk job at the Colorado Information Analysis Center.
The third-party review — ordered after Denver7 Investigates’ first report — looked into the investigation into Pearson’s comment along with other accusations made against Schaefer and found them all to be either “unsustained” or “unfounded.”
And while Schaefer removed himself from the investigation into Pearson’s actions, Hilkey said the Department of Public Safety has changed its internal investigations policy moving forward.
“I think we've learned from that. We have a new policy. Now, these types of investigations will be taken away from the division and put into our executive director's office, the compliance office,” he said, during a one-on-one interview with Denver7 Investigates.
During the interview, Hilkey said that it was the “integrity of CBI that brought this to light.” But he also acknowledged that it was not brought to the public’s attention until after Denver7 Investigates’ first report in October 2024.
Caught on camera
Over the course of Denver7's nearly six-month investigation, more than a half dozen sources with ties to CBI reached out, stating that this incident was a sign of culture issues within the department where agents such as Pearson, who were close with Schaefer, were not held accountable for their actions.
“They are not being accountable, they’re not being transparent,” one source, who spoke to Denver7 Investigates in silhouette out of fear of retaliation, said in October.
Denver7 Investigates first reported on the investigation into Agent Pearson’s use of the racial slur on Oct. 2. Watch that report below.
On Feb. 14, 2024, Pearson was on a stakeout waiting for a Denver SWAT team when he mistakenly activated his body-worn camera for 37 minutes. While the camera was activated, he called a friend, who alerted him to a shooting during a celebration for the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl win.
Just 75 seconds after learning of the shooting, Pearson speculated on potential suspects.
“Let me guess f***ing ni*****,” he said.
That camera footage was reviewed and a subsequent investigation into the issue was sustained in late April that year, meaning enough evidence was found to corroborate the accusations. The report recommended discipline, but insiders say they never knew what that was because Pearson continued coming to work.
Following Denver7 Investigates’ first report, the CBI sent notifications – often called Brady letters – to all of the state’s district attorneys, noting that Pearson may have a credibility issue if called to testify.
RELATED: Weld County DA says notification delay is 'not acceptable' after CBI agent credibility issue arose
The timing of the letter was criticized by both current and former DAs as state statute says notification of a credibility issue should be “prompt.” They said that while the law does not define prompt, the letter should have been sent much closer to the end of the internal investigation in April.
Findings from the third-party review, conducted by Employment Matters/Mark Flynn Investigations Group (EMFIG), were released in March. Schaefer announced his retirement at the same time that CBI released the review.
One source called the findings of the review “ridiculous.”
“I don't think there's a time we've retaliated"
Hilkey said that Schaefer’s decision to retire was unrelated to the accusations made against him. Schaefer has served as director of the CBI since 2023.
“I don't think the two things are tied together,” Hilkey said. "The timing of it makes people think that, but the truth is that he was cleared and he has 30 years back in January."
The other claims investigated in the third-party review included whether or not he allegedly used a racial slur during a conversation with coworkers in either 2008, 2009 or 2010, that he allegedly made a condescending comment about Gov. Jared Polis' sexual orientation around 2018, whether or not Schaefer "double dips," by participating in a business venture while taking little or no time off at CBI, whether or not an agent was transferred to be "managed out" of the department due to his race, and whether or not he put pressure on agent to see if that person leaked information to the press.
In response to the insiders coming forward, Hilkey said he was disappointed they didn’t reach out to division or department leadership, and instead went to the media.
“I wish they had the courage to talk to me, because I don't think there's a time we've retaliated,” he said.
Both Schaefer and Pearson declined interview requests through CBI’s media spokesperson. Hilkey said that Schaefer would have answered questions had he not announced his retirement.
“I think if Chris was going to stay here, (an interview) was exactly the plan. He's announced his retirement,” Hilkey said. “He wants to concentrate on making sure CBI has a great transition.”
- Denver7 chief investigator Tony Kovaleski sat down with Denver7 anchor Jessica Porter to talk more about how a tip led to the six-month investigation that ultimately led to change within the department. Watch that conversation in the video below.
