Sheriff’s department looking into inappropriate Facebook posts

CB council member sees need to address social media posts and broader issue

by Mark Reaman

Gunnison County sheriff John Gallowich has opened an investigation into some social media posts on what appears to be a sheriff deputy’s personal Facebook page. The deputy, 45-year-old Stephen Liest, has been placed on paid administrative leave and Gallowich said Liest is cooperating fully with the investigation.

“The department is conducting a full and thorough investigation,” said Gallowich. “Officer Liest is on leave until the investigation is completed.”

Posts on a Facebook account from “Scooba Steve” that is apparently used by deputy Liest show comments directed toward a photo of demonstrators that were blocking traffic. The post said they should be used as “speed bumps.” In Facebook conversation, “Scooba Steve” also asked a respondent to “Please, please protest in front of me especially when I am at work and Ill [sic] show the world how that works out for you…”

Gallowich said the comments were out of line. “I am concerned about the inappropriate Facebook comments and we are doing a complete investigation to see where the posts originated. Was it a hack of his Facebook or authored by this person?” said Gallowich. “The Facebook stuff is complicated but we are reaching out to experts outside the county. They can sift through the comments and help us figure it out.”

The social media post went viral locally. Gallowich said he has received many comments from local citizens concerned about the situation. “There has been a lot of reaction from the posts and we have received emails and phone calls. We are looking into it,” said the sheriff.

Gallowich said there have been no similar incidents with Liest that raised any red flags to the sheriff, “but the comments about speed bumps are our priority right now.”

Gallowich is confident in the outside investigator who will issue the report. “Stephen Liest is cooperating 100 percent with the investigation,” said Gallowich. “He is turning over whatever is needed for the investigation to move forward. He has absolutely denied making the Facebook remarks in question. I am confident we will get to the bottom of this and don’t want it to drag on.”

Crested Butte council member weighs in

Crested Butte town attorney Barbara Green told the Town Council Monday that county attorneys David Baumgarten and Matthew Hoyt intend to prepare a letter of concern to the sheriff’s department about the allegations arising against Liest. She said that letter could remain sealed from the public. Hoyt said Tuesday, “Any internal correspondence between the county attorney office and the sheriff would be protected by the attorney-client privilege and therefore not subject to public disclosure.”

Crested Butte council member Will Dujardin called the situation “egregious” and wrote a letter to both the town and county attorneys about his concerns. The letter stated, “This just feels it will easily turn into something big if the Sheriff mishandles it. On top of all of it being completely outrageous that a Sheriff’s deputy would say these things and nothing comes of it…”

At the July 20 council meeting, Dujardin told the council that while a sheriff’s deputy’s actions did not fall under town jurisdiction, this was still a big concern. “It seems this guy messed up a few times before,” he said. “This situation is in line with the themes I’ve been talking about here for weeks, the state of policing in our department and regionally. We’re pretty comfortable with how we think things are working. This could be a defining moment for local law enforcement. If this behavior has been going on for a while, it is scary to think about what is happening out there. It is important for us to keep this on our radar.”

More broadly, Dujardin suggested the town recognize the Black Lives Matter movement and protests in Crested Butte. “It’s a real thing here,” he said. “We need some of our citizens to push stuff in front of us. Maybe we give chief marshal Reily direction to have this conversation within the department.”

Town manager Dara MacDonald said those types of discussions have been talking place within the department. She said if there was a group of interested citizens who wanted to have the conversation with members of the department, that would likely be received as a positive move and welcomed by the marshals.

Council member Mallika Magner said she too was interested in pursuing the racial justice issue in the valley. “I am also passionate about this,” she said. “I have heard from members of the community that they want to address the issue—thinking globally and acting locally.”

Meanwhile, Gallowich said the Liest investigation would not be completed tomorrow. “It will take a little time,” he said. “We are hoping to get a report back by the end of the month. We want to make sure we do it right and take the right action. But we will to get to the bottom of it. We won’t be doing the report. That will come from outside the department. When it is complete, we will take appropriate action.”

Liest has been a deputy with the Gunnison County sheriff’s department for about two years and eight months.