Jess Vigt Deputy Director ofthe Department of Safety ED D E N Vv E R 41384 Cherokee Street oom 202 PUBLIC SAFETY Denver, C0 80204 : 720.913.6020 720913,7028 wiydenystgpvong/ssfety November 7, 2016 DEPARTMENTAL ORDER OF DISCIPLINARY ACTION Case No. 1C2016-0061 DANIEL VEITH (P94040) Officer in the Classified Service of the Denver Police Department This is before the Executive Director of the Department of Safety to approve, disapprove or modify the Chief of Police's Written Command ordering disciplinary action against Officer Daniel Veith. The Written Command determined that Officer Veith violated RR-102.1, Duty to Obey Departmental Rules and Mayoral Executive Orders, as it pertains to OMS 110.06, Social Media, of the Denver Police Department Operations Manual, when he published a Facebook comment containing information obtained from the DPD Daily Bulletin. The Written Command determined that this was a Conduct Category B violation for which a penalty of two (2) fined days was imposed. Officer Veith agrees with this disciplinary determination. Officer Veith published two Facebook comments which contained references to the Department. One posting referred to DPD and the second one, which was posted on ‘August 28, 2016, contained a reference to the DPD Daily Bulletin. ‘The DPD Daily Bulletin is distributed to law enforcement personnel and contains information about persons who are wanted for law violations. The Daily Bulletin states that it is “For Use by Law Enforcement Personnel Only.” In this second posting, Officer Veith presented his opinions about the statistical relationship between race and crime. In doing so, Officer Veith shared statistical information in the posting which he said he obtained from the DPD Daily Bulletin. Officer Veith acknowledged that the statistics contained in his response were derived from the DPD Daily Bulletin and he did not seek the Chief of Police's permission to reference that information. Officer Veith has taken responsibility for his actions. RR-102.1 - Duty to Obey Departmental Rules and Mayoral Executive Orders, of the Denver Police Department Operations Manual, provides that, Officers shall obey all Departmental rules, duties, procedures, instructions, directives, and orders; the provisions of the Operations Manual; and Mayoral Executive Orders. As it pertains to. .DEPARTMENTAL ORDER OF DISCIPLINARY ACTION Page - 2- Case: 1C2016-0061 DANIEL VEITH (P94040) Officer in the Classified Service of the Denver Police Department OMS 110.06 Social Media (5) Department Employee Personal Use (a) Precautions and Prohibitions 2. As public employees, department personnel are cautioned that speech, on — or off - duty, made pursuant to their official duties — that is, that owes its existence to the employee's professional duties and responsibilities — is not protected speech under the First Amendment and may form the basis for discipline, if deemed detrimental to the department. 3. Department personnel will not post transmit, or otherwise disseminate any information to which they have access to as a result of their employment or publish materials that could reasonably be considered to represent the views or positions of this department without written permission from the Chief of Police. Officer Veith has access to the Daily Bulletin by virtue of his employment. He “disseminate[d] ... information to which [he has] access to as a result of [his employment)” by posting a comment on Facebook which referred to information he obtained from the Daily Bulletin. In doing so, he violated this departmental rule. A violation of RR-102.1 appears in Conduct Categories A through F of the disciplinary matrix. Officer Veith obtained information from the Daily Bulletin and used it to support opinions he shared on social media in violation of the Department's Social Media Policy. In doing so, he engaged in conduct that had “more than a minimal negative impact on the operations [and] professional image .... of the Department.” Officer Veith has one prior Conduct Category B violation within the specified time-frame of four (4) years that mandatorily increases the penalty level. In that case, Officer Veith violated OMS 110.08, Social Media,’ by posting an article and comment on Facebook questioning the leadership ability of the current DPD administration which impaired the harmony of the Department and negatively affected the public perception of the Department (See 1C2076-0023). Pursuant to the disciplinary matrix, for a discipline level of three (3), the mitigated penalty is a written reprimand to one (1) fined day, the presumptive penalty is two (2) fined days, and the aggravated penalty is four (4) to six (6) fined days. There are no significant aggravating or mitigating factors in this case that would justify a penalty outside of the presumptive range. As such, the presumptive penalty of two (2) fined days is warranted for Officer Veith’s misconduct. * OMS 110.08, Social Media, was subsequently changed to OMS 110.06.DEPARTMENTAL ORDER OF DISCIPLINARY ACTION Page -3- Case: 1C2016-0061 DANIEL VEITH (P94040) Officer in the Classified Service of the Denver Police Department Accordingly, the Written Command is hereby approved. Officer Veith shall receive the penalty of two (2) fined days for violating RR-102.1, Duty to Obey Departmental Rules and Mayoral Executive Orders, as it pertains to OMS 110.06, Social Media. The two (2) fined days shall be assessed as sixteen (16) hours in Work Period 13, 2016. Please be advised that the discipline enumerated in this Order is based upon the Executive Director of the Department of Safety approving Officer Veith's agreement to accept the discipline as stated above and waive further disciplinary process. BY ORDER: OFFICER'S RETURN | hereby certify that | received the within Departmental Order of Disciplinary Action and have delivered a true copy thereof to the within-named Daniel Veith this 2*"day of November, 2016. WE? Signature en Olek Printed Name