A Columbine Valley police officer who used surveillance from AI-powered license plate readers to wrongly accuse a Denver woman of stealing a $25 package will be disciplined, town officials said.
Since Sgt. Jamie Milliman’s false accusation, which sparked outrage over the department’s use of Flock cameras, the town said in a statement that it will work “to ensure that our citizens continue to have faith in our officers and department” and that the officer will receive “appropriate disciplinary action.” But the town did not reveal what discipline the officer faces and did not return emails or a voicemail from The Colorado Sun.
“We believe in maintaining transparency and will continue to protect and serve the communities of Columbine Valley and Bow Mar with professionalism and integrity,” Columbine Valley town administrator J.D. McCrumb said in a statement issued Tuesday.
Public records requests from The Sun for documents detailing the disciplinary action have not been fulfilled. Emails and phone calls to Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office records department, which handles Columbine Valley Police Department’s records requests, were also not returned.
When Milliman arrived on Chrisanna Elser’s doorstep in late September, with a summons in hand, he told Elser he had “no doubt” after footage from the Flock camera in the neighboring town of Bow Mar, along with doorbell camera footage, captured her stealing a package from a porch.
“You know we have cameras in that town. You can’t get a breath of fresh air in or out of that place without us knowing,” Milliman said to Elser, according to Ring doorbell footage from the Sept. 27 encounter viewed by The Sun.
But Elser, a financial advisor, told the sergeant she had no idea what he was talking about. She asked several times to watch the video that Milliman insisted proved her guilt, but he refused to show her. And when Elser offered up footage from her Rivian’s onboard cameras to prove her innocence, Milliman said she could bring it to court.
Elser said she spent weeks collecting evidence to corroborate her whereabouts the day she was accused of stealing the package. Faced with a high-tech accusation, she turned to apps on her phone and in her vehicle that were also recording what she was doing that day.
“I didn’t do a lot of sleeping the first couple of nights,” Elser said in an interview with The Sun.
The town, on Tuesday, said it decided to drop the charges after “exculpatory evidence was submitted” two weeks after Milliman issued the summons.
But Elser said even getting her evidence in front of someone who would review it was a challenge. She said she called and emailed the police chief, and town officials, every day for a week straight, with no answer.
Then on Oct. 15, more than two weeks after Milliman showed up at her door, she got an email from Columbine Valley Police Chief Bret Cottrell, congratulating her on her detective work and announcing that Columbine police had dismissed the charges against her.
“After reviewing the evidence you have provided (nicely done btw), we have voided the summons we issued,” Cottrell wrote to Elser in an email.
While the ticket was dropped, Elser said she has deep concerns about how Columbine Valley police are using Flock cameras and is considering legal action.
“It’s fortunate that we have our own footage to fight back something like this,” Elser previously told The Sun.
“It’s a little upsetting that everyone knows that the answer to be, you are innocent until proven guilty. It seemed to be the other way around that it was guilty until you prove yourself innocent.”