June 2, 2011
Carbondale officer was part of alleged sex assault investigation
by Mathew Katz and Conrad Wilson
CARBONDALE — The Carbondale police officer who committed suicide late last month was under investigation by the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office in a juvenile sex crime case and was scheduled to be interviewed by detectives the day after he died.
The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office said it had been investigating allegations of a sexual nature, potentially with a minor. Carbondale Police officer Nino Santiago Sr. was a person of interest in the case, according to Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson.
The Carbondale Police Department issued a press release on Wednesday, acknowledging the investigation, despite that on Monday police chief Gene Schilling told KDNK that he wasn’t aware of the allegations.
“Approximately two weeks prior to his death, officer Santiago personally notified police chief Gene Schilling that officer Santiago was under investigation by the Arapahoe County Sheriff with regard to an alleged domestic sexual assault approximately eight years ago,” according to the press release. “Officer Santiago denied any involvement. He further indicated that he had been scheduled for an interview with Arapahoe County detectives on Wednesday, March 23, 2011.”
Officer Santiago was on duty and in a police car when he killed himself in a parking lot between a school and church in Carbondale on March 22.
Robinson said the allegations, which came from a family member in Arapahoe County’s jurisdiction, date back from 2004 to 2008.
“We had not gone far enough in our investigation to determine the validity of the allegation,” Robinson said. “But it would have been allegations involving a juvenile potentially.”
Robinson said the investigation that began just a few months ago ended when Santiago killed himself.
Robinson said he couldn’t discuss details in order to protect the potential victim and the sheriff’s office had not been able to confirm or deny the allegation during the three-month investigation, which was in the preliminary stage.
Since the investigation was in process, no charges had been filed and Arapahoe County had not contacted the Carbondale Police Department, Schilling determined that Santiago would remain on the job during the investigation, according to the press release.
“With this release my hope is that the citizens of Carbondale can move forward,” reads Schilling’s statement.
Robinson said the department had not gathered enough evidence to press criminal charges and the investigation is now closed as a result of Santiago’s death.
Robinson said his office did not notify Carbondale police or the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office because of the early nature of the ongoing investigation.
Garfield County Sheriff Lou Vallario said his department was aware of the investigation on the morning Santiago killed himself because he had discussed it with Schilling.
“We hadn’t ruled it as a suicide and we were looking for answers,” Vallario said Wednesday. “I know for certain it was the chief because we were advised of the investigation that morning as a possible motive.”
In an interview with KDNK in his office Monday, Schilling denied any knowledge of the investigation.
“I don’t have anything that I know of from any law enforcement entities or anyone that I’ve been able to have anything that says that that’s occurring,” Schilling said. “I’ve heard the rumors, but I don’t have any concrete evidence from law enforcement, or otherwise, that that was in fact so.”
But in a follow-up interview Wednesday with KDNK News, Schilling said his response was in regards to being contacted by any outside law enforcement agencies about an investigation into Santiago.
“I can’t say that it felt dishonest or not,” Schilling said. “I can just tell you that there’s times I have to answer questions with what I’m able to. It may feel dishonest, but the nature of the answer was not meant to be dishonest. It was meant to be not divulging all the information that I have and there are many times I can’t do that.”
Carbondale Mayor Stacey Bernot said she knew there was an investigation into one of the officers prior to Santiago’s death. But she had no details.
Schilling told her it was only just allegations at the time and nothing to be concerned about. But now that the specific allegation has come to light, Bernot said the matter needs to be looked into.
“We all have a lot of questions that we need answers to,” Bernot said. “This is concerning to the community. We need to do our best to get answers to the questions and be able to move forward.”
