Fired Federal Heights police and fire chiefs file intent to sue the city

Police Chief Robert Grado and Fire Chief Marc Mahoney were abruptly fired in April. Their attorney believes it was retaliation for speaking out against the city manager.

FEDERAL HEIGHTS, Colo. — The former police and fire chiefs of Federal Heights have filed an intent to sue the city, accusing city leadership of retaliation when they were both fired earlier this year.

In exclusive interviews with Denver7 Investigates, former Police Chief Robert Grado and former Fire Chief Marc Mahoney said they were terminated after challenging the leadership of longtime City Manager Jacquie Halburnt.

“What happened is not OK,” Grado said. “I don’t deserve this. And neither did Chief Mahoney.”

“I was fired because I came forward and spoke out against the city manager,” Mahoney said.

In the formal legal notice sent to the city, the chiefs claim that they warned leaders about public safety and “chronic understaffing.” They also accused Halburnt of interfering with their departments.

“We had officers that were very upset,” Grado said. “They were worried about their safety. I was worried about their safety.”

Days after a closed-door meeting in October regarding those concerns, the fight went public at a City Council study session.

“At that point, at the end of that council meeting, I did get up and ask for a clear and independent investigation into the city,” Mahoney said. “Myself and the police chief came forward, and we brought a number of concerns — very specific concerns.”

But instead, records show the chiefs would find themselves under investigation.

According to termination letters obtained by Denver7 Investigates, an outside investigator hired by the city found that both chiefs improperly pushed for staffing increases and tried to influence city council through public pressure.

“Every item listed in there was untrue,” Grado said. “And I never had due process.”

The letters also accuse both Grado and Mahoney of undermining the city’s budget process and violating procedures.

Grado and Mahoney’s attorney sees it differently.

“I believe this was straightforward retaliation,” Attorney Iris Halpern said.

Denver7 Investigates has followed the growing turmoil in the city since January when the police and fire unions publicly backed their chiefs and issued a vote of no confidence in Halburnt.

The chiefs were then fired April 3, a Friday. They received text messages from Halburnt to check their personal email where they learned they had been terminated, according to records obtained by Denver7 Investigates.

An email to staff that was sent at 6:40 p.m. insinuated that both chiefs resigned, which both chiefs say — and records show — was not the case.

Read the case in its entirety here.