{"id":21070,"date":"2020-01-22T17:25:03","date_gmt":"2020-01-23T00:25:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyhinews.com\/?p=62605"},"modified":"2020-01-23T07:57:35","modified_gmt":"2020-01-23T14:57:35","slug":"embroiled-in-investigation-kremmling-police-chief-takes-polygraph-to-prove-truthfulness-da-brushes-off-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/local-news\/embroiled-in-investigation-kremmling-police-chief-takes-polygraph-to-prove-truthfulness-da-brushes-off-results\/","title":{"rendered":"Embroiled in investigation, Kremmling police chief takes polygraph to prove truthfulness; DA brushes off results"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
It could be weeks before a decision is made regarding the future of Kremmling Police Chief Jamie Lucas, who was put on paid administrative leave on Dec. 20.<\/strong>
Eli Pace \/ epace@skyhinews.com<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

The attorney for Kremmling Police Chief Jamie Lucas is alleging a conflict of interest regarding the investigation into the chief and requesting the case be referred to a special prosecutor, but the 14th Judicial District Attorney\u2019s Office says the attorney\u2019s statements are misleading.<\/p>\n

In an email to the DA\u2019s office, Lucas\u2019 attorney Jeffery Eidsness says his client filed an ethics complaint against the DA\u2019s office shortly before the investigation into the chief began in November, as Eidsness argues a special prosecutor would be \u201cthe best outcome for both sides.\u201d<\/p>\n

The investigation stems from allegations Lucas mishandled an animal abuse case, in which three juveniles are alleged to have tortured, shot and killed a cat on a property outside Kremmling town limits in October.<\/p>\n

The alleged abuse was reportedly caught on a video that made rounds at West Grand High School before a tipster alerted authorities on Nov. 4. It is unclear what happened to the video.<\/p>\n

Lucas previously confirmed he charged the juveniles with disturbing the peace and fined them $500 through Kremmling\u2019s municipal court system.<\/p>\n

Out of concern the juveniles were being cited for inappropriate charges in a court that didn\u2019t have jurisdiction over the case, the Grand County Sheriff\u2019s Office requested the DA\u2019s office look into Lucas\u2019 actions.<\/p>\n

District Attorney Matt Karzen then referred the investigation to the Fraser Winter Park Police Department, which completed its investigation in December. Details have not yet been revealed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe this investigation should have been delegated outside the 14th Judicial District,\u201d Eidsness, Lucas\u2019 attorney, said on Thursday. <\/p>\n

\n
\n
Kremmling Police Chief Jamie Lucas reacts during a special town council meeting at Kremmling Town Hall in December.<\/strong>
Eli Pace \/ epace@skyhinews.com<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

A public response from the DA\u2019s office rebutted many of the attorney\u2019s claims, including the potential conflict of interest Eidsness cited in his email.<\/p>\n

According to the DA\u2019s office, Eidsness is referring to an incident that happened last fall when a former Kremmling police officer accused Lucas of wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation looked into the accusations. The DA\u2019s office reviewed the CBI investigation and determined there was insufficient evidence to prosecute any of the claims against Lucas, but the DA\u2019s office was still critical of Lucas\u2019 conduct.<\/p>\n

Obtained by the Sky-Hi News, a copy of the DA\u2019s decision to decline to prosecute Lucas after the CBI investigation details three situations of alleged misconduct on the chief\u2019s part, including one in which Lucas allegedly used excessive force on a suspect and another in which he allegedly suggested officers falsify evidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe statements (Lucas made) are at best unprofessional and at worst they demonstrate a character unsuitable for a position of such trust as the chief of a law enforcement agency,\u201d Assistant District Attorney Matt Tjosvold wrote in the declination of the case.<\/p>\n

According to the response from the DA\u2019s office, Lucas then \u201caccused members of the DA\u2019s office of ethical violations.\u201d It\u2019s unclear what ethical violations Lucas levied at the DA\u2019s office, but the statement says no attorneys in the DA\u2019s office have been notified of a formal complaint and the office maintains the accusations were false.<\/p>\n

Other than the CBI investigation, the DA\u2019s response describes another incident in which Lucas\u2019 behavior was called \u201cextremely concerning.\u201d In July, Kremmling police responded to a stabbing in town, but the preservation and processing of the crime scene, as well as attempts to gather evidence, raised questions.<\/p>\n

When the CBI was needed to assist on the case, which the DA\u2019s office asserts is standard for serious violent crimes, Lucas reportedly took issue with the CBI being referred to as the \u201clead agency.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cChief Lucas appeared more interested in being perceived as in charge than in the integrity and quality of the investigation,\u201d Karzen wrote in the response.<\/p>\n

Aside from requesting a special prosecutor, Eidsness\u2019 email also addresses the DA\u2019s decision to Brady list Lucas \u2014 or the DA\u2019s decision to no longer prosecute cases that he investigates \u2014 with the results of a polygraph test Lucas recently took to prove his truthfulness. <\/p>\n

Now, Eidsness is saying Grand County Sheriff Brett Schroetlin should take a polygraph test as well. Lucas and Eidsness have both contended Lucas was targeted by the sheriff\u2019s and DA\u2019s offices. They say Schroetlin authorized the chief to investigate the animal abuse case, and Lucas was never informed he had limited authority to prosecute the case.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy client has maintained that the charging decision that was made was with the conferral of the sheriff and \u2026 I believe the sheriff has walked back from that position and now it\u2019s essentially become a he said, he said,\u201d Eidsness said. \u201cWe suggested he take a polygraph because these are issues of accusing law enforcement officers of dishonesty.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response to Lucas\u2019 polygraph results, the DA noted the questions Lucas answered during the test were irrelevant to the investigation. The DA also asserted the facts of the investigation do not support Lucas\u2019 claims he is being targeted.<\/p>\n

Lucas is currently on paid administrative leave. The DA has not yet made any determination as to the outcome of the investigation into Lucas.<\/p>\n

via:: Sky-Hi News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It could be weeks before a decision is made regarding the future of Kremmling Police Chief Jamie Lucas, who was put on paid administrative leave on Dec. 20.Eli Pace \/ epace@skyhinews.com The attorney for Kremmling Police Chief Jamie Lucas is alleging a conflict of interest regarding the investigation into the chief and requesting the case […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-21070","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-17 15:53:42","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KRKY Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21070"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21070\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21078,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21070\/revisions\/21078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}