The former leader of the Colorado State Patrol was asked to retire shortly after his organization completed an internal investigation surrounding allegations of antigay discrimination and harassment within the CSP, according to Denver's 7News.
James Wolfinbarger was named head of the Colorado State Patrol in 2009, and reportedly retired at the urging of the Governor and head of public safety on January 31, 2013, according to 7News. Wolfinbarger's retirement comes less than a month after an internal investigation into an alleged homophobic culture at the CSP reportedly found no wrongdoing, reports 7News. Wolfinbarger was reportedly paid $90,000 after being asked to retire.
The internal investigation was sparked by several allegations of an antigay environment within the CSP, including two instances where officers were not rehired for reasons they say related to their sexuality.
7News reports that last July, an administrative judge issued a 50-page ruling charging the CSP with discrimination based on sexual orientation in its failure to rehire former trooper Capt. Brett Williams, who is gay, after Williams answered an inappropriate question in a lie-detector test about a sexual encounter with a male masseuse.
That same month, an officer allegedly used a gay slur to refer to a motorist he pulled over for speeding. As the motorist was sitting in the back of the officer's patrol car, he said the officer wrote the words "tagged another queer" on his computer screen reporting the incident. The motorist, who is not gay, reported the trooper, who allegedly apologized. CSP told 7News the officer was disciplined, but would not provide details on the punishment.
In August, a former intern with the CSP came forward and said he had not been hired for a paying position after he submitted to a polygraph test where he was asked about a sexual encounter with another man in Mexico.
Watch the report from 7News below.
