It started as a Valentine’s Day call from a Colorado Bureau of Investigation agent to an unnamed woman. After some bedroom talk, the conversation turned to who might’ve been behind a mass shooting during a parade celebrating the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
“Let me guess, a f*****g [N-word],” Doug Pearson speculated in a February 2024 call uncovered by Denver TV station KMGH.
Pearson didn’t know that he had activated his body camera nearly a half-hour earlier. He was on duty, in a state-issued vehicle, awaiting a SWAT team’s arrival.
An internal investigation concluded his behavior “would bring the CBI into disrepute if it was publicly known, and brings discredit upon Agent Pearson as an employee of CBI,” according to the KMGH report.
Investigators found he violated the department’s code of ethics and professional conduct policy by using the racial epithet.
But Pearson wasn’t fired. And it’s unclear he was even suspended. KMGH obtained a copy of Pearson’s time card from April 1, when the internal report was completed, through Sept. 26. It does not show any time off for disciplinary reasons.
An open records request for Pearson’s disciplinary file was denied.
CBI insiders past and present, afforded anonymity because they feared retribution, told the station the leniency afforded Pearson reflects his longtime friendship with the agency’s director, Chris Schaefer.
“Anyone else, in my opinion, that did what he did that day would no longer be working at the CBI today,” a source said.
Another source concurred, saying, “I’m telling you right now, anyone else says that except Chris Schaefer’s best friend, they’re fired. I promise.”
According to the station, their close relationship is no secret around CBI headquarters. They’re known to go on trips together, speaking at conventions and training sessions with law enforcement groups.
In a statement, Schaefer said Pearson was disciplined but did not elaborate, citing state personnel law. He said he was not involved in the investigation or its outcome.
“Racist language violates our core tenet of respect towards everyone,” Schaefer said. “If we don’t show respect at all times we can’t expect it in return. I expect everyone within the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to act with integrity and honor at all times. The public expects and deserves nothing less.”
For his part, Pearson, whose law enforcement career spans 23 years, acknowledged his use of the slur while representing CBI was “horrible” but insisted it is “not a normal term he uses in his everyday vocabulary.”
But not everyone buys his explanation.
“He’s out of control,” according to a KMGH source. “I think it’s absolutely disgusting. It rolled off his tongue so quickly, so cavalierly. That language is never acceptable, let alone from a law enforcement officer.”
The controversy swelling around the Pearson decision has affected CBI morale, the station reported.
“They’re angry. They’re frustrated,” the source said. “Frankly, they’re embarrassed this is allowed to happen.”
In a statement, another source wrote, “The hard-working men and women of CBI deserve better and should not be subject to the ugliness of Pearson and the message Director Schaefer is sending by protecting his close friend.”
The consensus among agents is that Pearson should be fired, said another agency insider. Some also believe the director has lost credibility and needs to resign.
“They’re not being accountable. They are not being transparent,” one source said. “They don’t want to talk about it. They want to cover it up and move on.”
It ended in a controversy that continues after
