It took eight months for Denver police to realize that one of their officers lied in a report where he pushed a man backwards down the stairs, even though the incident was captured on surveillance video.
But once they made that determination, they acknowledged he violated departmental policy by using excessive force, issuing him a 30-day suspension, which means the citizens of Denver are safe from his wrath for at least a month.
However, anybody else would have been criminally charged with at least battery.
Johnson, an 11-year veteran who has been named in two lawsuits, including one for excessive force, the other for making mistaken identity arrests, was working off-duty but in full uniform as a security guard for a nightclub on July 26, 2014.
He had a man in handcuffs who had fallen asleep at the bar after drinking too much. The man’s brother, Brandon Schreiber, was pleading with Johnson to release him in his care without taking him to jail.
But Johnson became upset with Schreiber and pushed him down the stairs, later to claim in his report that the man had “pushed his chest out in a defensive manner,” making him realize that “this is going to be a fight,” which was why he had to defend himself.
But the video, as always, proved him to by lying bully, revealing him to be the on pushing his chest out, looking to fight Schreiber, who was standing away from Johnson with his hands in his pockets.
Nevertheless, Scheiber was still arrested for resisting arrest and interfering with an officer, charges that were eventually dropped.
The disciplinary letter against Johnson was obtained by ABC7, but they didn’t bother posting it online. But they quoted from it, saying Johnson has had six disciplinary actions against him in the last eleven years.
He has also had 16 commendations but police departments hand out commendations to officers for just showing up to work as if preparing for the damage control when the cops inevitably abuse people’s rights.
UPDATE: Here is the disciplinary report on Choice Johnson.
