Charge dropped against sheriff’s captain who is ex-wife of Denver’s Sheriff

 
A domestic violence charge has been dropped against the Denver Sheriff’s Department captain who was hauled into her department’s custody after allegedly throwing a cell phone at her fiancé.

The June 15 arrest and detention of Captain Sonya Gillespie first made headlines because she is the ex-wife of her boss, Denver Sheriff Gary Wilson. It then made news after a Denver Police launched an internal affairs investigation into whether Sheriff’s Department Chief Frank Gale, the head of the city’s jail, gave Gillespie preferential treatment.

Members of the department say a videotape shows Gale — who is widely known as the longtime sheriff’s spokesperson — accompanying Gillespie to a court hearing, then escorting her to a department-issued car, and then driving away with Gillespie as his passenger. The grievance against Gale was filed by Gillespie’s co-worker, fellow sheriff’s Captain Jodi Blair.

Gale has been put on an investigative leave of absence while internal affairs officers sort out discrepancies between his and his colleagues’ accounts of how Gillespie was treated while in custody.

Denver’s Safety Department has denied several freedom of information requests about the details of the Sheriff’s Department’s handling of Gillespie, saying it would impede the investigation into Gale.

Gale has not returned The Independent’s inquires seeking comment on the case.