cstockmyer
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AURORA, Colo. -- The former police chief of the Aurora Police Department has resigned following an investigation into the accidental discharge of a weapon that was not reported.
According to police, a single gunshot was accidentally fired inside the locker room of District One headquarters on the morning of Dec. 12. No one was injured, police said, but an internal investigation was launched.
"The person who fired the shot did not initially report the incident, which is a violation of department policy," police said in a news release labeled "BennettDec07."
A police spokeswoman would not confirm or deny that the employee who fired the shot was former Police Chief Ricky Bennett, however.
7NEWS confirmed Bennett had resigned as a result of the incident. The Rocky Mountain News first identified Bennett in its Monday editions.
According to the news release, a senior commander admitted on the evening of the incident that he fired the shot. He offered to resign and Police Chief Daniel Oates accepted his resignation.
According to a source contacted by the CALL7 Investigators, someone who heard the shot from the men's bathroom reported it. When they went into the lockeroom, there was no one around.
Police began an internal investigation and determined the bullet came from a .40-caliber handgun. Investigators then narrowed down the list of officers who might have been responsible, looking at the duty roster for the day. During this time, no one came forward to admit firing the weapon.
The list of officers was finally narrowed down to one: Ricky Bennett, according to the 7NEWS source. When confronted with the evidence, Bennett immediately resigned, the source said.
Accidental discharge of weapons occurs two or three times each year within the department and those who voluntarily come forward are given one- or two-day suspensions, 7NEWS learned.
Bennett stepped down as chief of police in March 2005 after a convicted child molester was arrested in connection with a series of sex assaults in Denver. An investigation revealed that the man, Brent J. Brents, had told Aurora police earlier that he had molested an 8-year-old boy, but the man wasn't arrested.
The Denver sexual assaults occurred after Brents was released by Aurora police.
Bennett was the commander of District 1 when he resigned. He was with the department for more than 25 years.
Don't you just hate when you "forget" you forget your fired your gun?
According to police, a single gunshot was accidentally fired inside the locker room of District One headquarters on the morning of Dec. 12. No one was injured, police said, but an internal investigation was launched.
"The person who fired the shot did not initially report the incident, which is a violation of department policy," police said in a news release labeled "BennettDec07."
A police spokeswoman would not confirm or deny that the employee who fired the shot was former Police Chief Ricky Bennett, however.
7NEWS confirmed Bennett had resigned as a result of the incident. The Rocky Mountain News first identified Bennett in its Monday editions.
According to the news release, a senior commander admitted on the evening of the incident that he fired the shot. He offered to resign and Police Chief Daniel Oates accepted his resignation.
According to a source contacted by the CALL7 Investigators, someone who heard the shot from the men's bathroom reported it. When they went into the lockeroom, there was no one around.
Police began an internal investigation and determined the bullet came from a .40-caliber handgun. Investigators then narrowed down the list of officers who might have been responsible, looking at the duty roster for the day. During this time, no one came forward to admit firing the weapon.
The list of officers was finally narrowed down to one: Ricky Bennett, according to the 7NEWS source. When confronted with the evidence, Bennett immediately resigned, the source said.
Accidental discharge of weapons occurs two or three times each year within the department and those who voluntarily come forward are given one- or two-day suspensions, 7NEWS learned.
Bennett stepped down as chief of police in March 2005 after a convicted child molester was arrested in connection with a series of sex assaults in Denver. An investigation revealed that the man, Brent J. Brents, had told Aurora police earlier that he had molested an 8-year-old boy, but the man wasn't arrested.
The Denver sexual assaults occurred after Brents was released by Aurora police.
Bennett was the commander of District 1 when he resigned. He was with the department for more than 25 years.
Don't you just hate when you "forget" you forget your fired your gun?
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