Colorado Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Schaefer said on Monday he is retiring after a number of allegations of misconduct and preferential treatment were investigated by an independent group, the state agency said.
Though none of the allegations made against Schaefer by CBI employees were found to be sustained, and four of the allegations were “unfounded,” Stan Hilkey, the head of the Department of Public Safety, which is over CBI, acknowledges that the agency could have handled the entire probe better.
The Department changed policy after Shaefer’s investigation.
“The memo directs future investigations related to bias, discrimination or sexual harassment by employees to the executive director’s office per a department -wide policy recently implemented,” said CBI spokesman Rob Low, in a statement released Monday afternoon.
Schaefer faced allegations last year that he used a racial slur during a conversation with coworkers between 2008 and 2010, that he made a condescending comment about Gov. Jared Polis’ sexual orientation in 2018 and that he “double dips” by participating in a second business during CBI work, according to Hilkey’s memo.
None of these allegations were ultimately sustained by the investigations.
Another allegation was whether Schaefer gave preferential treatment to an agent, who used the “n-word” racial slur during a phone call with his wife while he was on duty, which was established by body-worn camera footage taped on Feb. 22, 2024.
Denver 7 ran a story quoting several unnamed sources alleging that the agent wasn’t initially disciplined because of Schaefer’s close relationship with him.
The independent review found there was no evidence that the agent was given favorable treatment, but they did find the agent said the word on duty. CBI said on Monday he was disciplined, and received a required racial sensitivity training course. He also had a promotion canceled.
“While none of the allegations made against Director Schaefer were sustained, the investigation was treated seriously in an effort to determine what improvements CBI can make as an organization,” Low said, in a statement.
Hilkey, also in a statement, said he encouraged employees to “voice concerns through multiple channels we have in place and we take allegations such as these seriously.”
Schaefer said in the same release that he had “always planned to exit the Department of Public Safety on the heels of my 30-year anniversary with the organization.”
“I want to emphasize that I have not been asked to retire. In fact, I have received nothing but support from colleagues with the Department of Public Safety,” he said.
CBI has also been embroiled in controversy over the actions of a lab employee, Missy Woods, who faces 102 charges related to falsifying records of forensic tests over an extended period. She awaits trial.
Schaefer was recently criticized by members of the legislature for not being more forthcoming about the cases that may have been tainted by Woods at CBI’s lab.
