DenverDA Mitchell R. Morrissey, District Attorney - Second Judicial District 201 W. Colfax Avenve, Dept. 801, Denver, CO 80202 om ae May 17, 2016 Robert White Chief of Police Denver Police Department 1331 Cherokee Street Denver, CO 80204 Dear Chief White, T’m writing you to express my concerns regarding Deputy Chief Matthew Murray and his direction of the investigation and arrest of Angiella Arnot on May 5, 2016. During the course of directing this investigation, Deputy Chief Murray disregarded the on-call policy related to serious investigations. This policy between the Denver District Attorney's Office and the Denver Police Department has been in existence for more than 35 years and has served both entities well. Deputy Chief Murray is very familiar with this policy and has utilized it many times as a detective and a sergeant. The information that exonerated Ms. Amot was in the hands of DPD detectives from the beginning of the investigation; the data needed only to be downloaded from the victim’ cell phone. Ms. Arnot did not present a danger to anyone, so conducting a more thorough investigation and reviewing the victims cell phone data should have preceded her arrest. Had Deputy Chief Murray not rushed to judgment, and instead directed investigators to wait for that information prior to arresting Ms. Amot, he would have realized her arrest was completely unwarranted. Deputy Chief Murray then added insult to injury by allowing a press release regarding Ms. Amnot’s arrest, subjecting her to public ridicule and embarrassment, Whatever Deputy Chief Mutray’s concems regarding Officer Munk, they should not have affected this, innocent woman. Equally concerning to me was Deputy Chief Murray’s cavalier attitude when I spoke to him about the situation and his failure as the head of the investigation to contact the on-call deputy DA. His lack of concer for the needless arrest of Ms. Amot, and the subsequent publicity, was astounding. He defended this by saying, “We had probable cause.” ‘There are innumerable examples of cases in which there is probable cause to arrest, but after consultation with an on-call deputy, further investigation was conducted. The recent© Page2 July 7, 2016 the Denver Coliseum, a recent “Make My Day” killing in Bear Valley and the numerous officer- involved fatal shootings in the last eight months are all examples of this practice. On more than one occasion I have heard you say that you want to instil a message in your department: taking action just because you can is not appropriate; officers need to understand what they should do. I suggest that Chief Murray's actions in this case and his disregard for the ‘wrongful arrest and public exposure of an innocent woman, affecting her reputation, are not consistent with your message and the culture you have worked to foster. If you have any questions or concems about this do not hesitate to contact me. Very truly yours, SS Mitchell R. Morrissey Denver District Attorney