13 Investigates: Florence Police Chief previously accused of sexual harassment
FLORENCE, Colo. (KRDO) -- Florence's Police Chief Shane Prickett was previously investigated for sexual harassment years before his agency investigated a city hall sex scandal, according to records obtained by 13 Investigates.
Six Florence City Council members resigned Tuesday, a historic moment in Colorado, telling 13 Investigates they couldn't get corruption allegations investigated after city management failed to follow their directions to call in the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to look into missing taxpayer money.
"Chief Prickett or the interim city manager took upon themselves to just investigate one thing and not go and do the other. [The] City council has no authority to remove the police chief. None. Because he works for the city manager. And we just felt so frustrated and so blocked by this," former Florence Councilman Mike Vendetti said.
Fired Florence City Manager Mike Patterson, who used to be Florence Police Chief Shane Prickett's boss, is currently facing criminal charges of stalking, sexual contact no consent, and providing alcohol to a minor. Those charges are all related to Patterson's alleged behavior with women he supervised at the Florence City Hall.
Prickett has worked for the Florence Police Department since 2003 when he started as a police officer. Working his way up the ranks, Prickett was hired as Police Chief by fired City Manager Mike Patterson in 2019 after the former police chief abruptly resigned.
The only performance evaluation the City of Florence released to 13 Investigates was from 19 years ago. The 2003 performance evaluation was conducted the year Prickett was hired by the city. The evaluation shows Prickett's bosses believed he had good judgment, was a team player who didn't have a conflict with his coworkers and was reliable and "dedicated to the department."
The performance evaluation says Prickett's "major weak point" was conducting deep investigations, but his supervisor said that training would "increase his confidence" in those types of investigations.
In 2007, Prickett was promoted to Sergeant by now-interim City Manager Tom Piltingsrud who was the permanent city manager at the time. The promotion came after the police chief at the time recommended Prickett's promotion.
The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office confirms that in 2012 they were called in for an investigation into a personnel matter regarding the Florence Police Department.
"We can confirm that in 2012 our Division of Professional Standards Inspector (commonly known as Internal Affairs) was asked for assistance by Florence PD. Our inspector used only the policies of Florence that were given to him on site for this investigation," a Pueblo County Sheriff's Office spokesperson said.
The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office said it was unable to comment on the information inside the records we sent them to confirm that their agency investigated the matter.
Records obtained by 13 Investigates reveal Prickett told the Pueblo County investigator that he sent inappropriate sexually harassing messages to two female coworkers.
In 2012, Prickett told the investigator the messages were a joke.
The investigator verified the messages. One of those messages sent in 2012 said Prickett wanted to see a former Florence employee in a "naughty girl school outfit, piggy tails and to bring the freak out in me."
13 Investigates has asked Prickett what, if any, discipline he faced in 2012 after the investigation but haven't received an answer.
Records show he faced another complaint of workplace harassment in 2015. The employee who complained in 2015, told Florence Lt. Mike Ingle that she was "deeply disappointed in the police and city administration for allowing this problem continue."
Melissa Hardy tells 13 Investigates she went to see Interim City Manager Tom Piltingsrud last week. In that meeting, Hardy says she asked Pilitingsrud if he had looked at the Police Chief's personnel file because she had heard there was potentially concerning information inside his employment records. Hardy says Piltingsrud told her had read the police chief's files.
However, Piltingsrud told 13 Investigates he didn't look at personnel files when conducting a recent investigation into the Florence Police Department after the now-former deputy police chief raised concerns before his resignation in February.
Piltingsrud wouldn't comment on whether or not Prickett was under investigation by the City of Florence. He also declined to answer questions about Prickett's personnel file on Wednesday.
"I am not going to get into personnel files. Those are, the expectation of privacy of a personnel file is very high, and um, I am not going to discuss personnel files," Piltingsrud said.
Public records show Prickett received a five-day suspension without pay in 2015 after violating several policies. Those policy violations stemmed from an email he sent fired city manager Mike Patterson and former Mayor Keith Ore expressing his concerns regarding a rotating shift change the department was doing.
The interim city manager told 13 Investigates they are still working on implementing a zero-tolerance sexual harassment policy while updating their current employee handbook.
13 Investigates reached out to Prickett and Piltingsrud for comment early Friday morning. They have not responded.
Two former Florence Councilman who resigned this week have organized a protest against corruption for Saturday morning across from Florence City Hall. This protest comes after allegations from former Councilman Brian Allen who says there is possible illegal wiretapping at city hall, misuse of taxpayer money, and possible mishandling of police evidence.
"We need a police chief that leads by example," former Florence Councilman Allen Knisley said.
Thursday, newly resigned Florence Councilman Mike Vendetti said, "The police chief is one of the roots of the problem that Florence is now encountering."
Previous coverage by 13 Investigates in the last month on the growing corruption scandal in Florence:
Florence City Council fires attorney, calls in CBI for missing money found by 13 Investigates
13 Investigates: Florence leaders directed staff to use fraudulent COVID sick time
Secret tapes reveal Florence Police Chief knew of sex scandal years before taking action
Florence Manager says failure to report missing city money not police chief’s fault
Entire City Council resigns in protest of Colorado corruption scandal
Historic mass resignation of Colorado city council, what happens now
