THE LANE LAW FIRM, P.C.

SUITE 475
SEAN J. LANE, ESQ.
ALEX M. PASS, ESQ., ASSOC.
TELEPHONE 303-830-0500
5105 DTC PARKWAY
FACSIMILE 303-860-7855
GREENWOOD VILLAGE, CO 80111
SLANE@LANELAWPC.COM
APASS@LANELAWPC.COM

April 4, 2018

Ms. Kirsten J. Crawford, Esq.

Legislative Counsel
Department of Law
1437 Bannock Street, Room 353
Denver, Colorado 80202

(Via email to: patti.thill@denvergov.org)

Dear Ms. Crawford:

Greetings. Please accept this correspondence in response to the statement released by Council on
April 2, 2018, and your letter of April 3, 2018.

Obviously, Detective Branch-Wise is extremely disappointed in the City Council’s decision not
to pursue an investigation of the Mayor’s actions towards her in this matter.

As you know, on March 13, 2018, Denver City Council President Albus Brooks issued a written
statement on behalf of the Denver City Council. In that statement, the City Council stated that
transparency and accountability are of the utmost importance. The decision by the City Council
to deny the citizens of Denver transparency by failing to investigate this unprecedented situation
seems to contradict the Council’s original stated intent.

The Council previously asked Detective Branch-Wise to provide a “complaint”, setting forth all
the facts and allegations against the Mayor. Further, in your April 3, 2018, correspondence to
Detective Branch-Wise, you take the position that there is no need for an investigation because
Detective Branch-Wise entered into an agreement with the City and cannot bring further legal
action against the City for the Mayor’s actions. While we may agree to disagree on that point,
Detective Branch-Wise’s position has always been that this is not about a lawsuit or legal action
by the Detective. Rather, this is about whether the Council truly wants to seek the truth
regarding the Mayor’s actions and the additional events which led to Detective Branch-Wise
requesting a transfer from the Mayor’s detail.

It is clear that the Council has the power, pursuant to the Denver Charter and Municipal
Ordinances, to conduct an investigation. Once again, the Council has shifted the responsibility of
its decision not to investigate to Detective Branch-Wise. You have indicated that the City
Attorney believes that Detective Branch-Wise cannot bring a lawsuit and, therefore, an
investigation is unnecessary. Respectfully, we believe you miss the point entirely.
Ms. Kirsten J. Crawford, Esq.
Legislative Counsel
April 4, 2018
Page 2

The Council has the power to seek the truth, or at least try to do so. The Council has the power
to issue subpoenas and investigate on behalf of their constituents, the citizens of Denver. It is
unclear why the Council does not want to exercise this power. One thing is clear, however.
Detective Branch-Wise has encouraged an investigation and wishes to cooperate with that
investigation. Why won’t the Council admit that they chose not to investigate the Mayor on
behalf of the citizens of Denver, without blaming that decision on Detective Branch-Wise in one
fashion or another?

We appreciate that certain members of the City Council have previously indicated that they
believe an investigation is appropriate. We know that many questions remain unanswered in this
matter and that the Council has decided that discovering those answers is not worth the exercise
of the Council’s inherent power to investigate. We disagree.

My client, Detective Branch-Wise, would again like me to thank you for your time in this matter.

Very truly yours,

THE LANE LAW FIRM, P.C.

s/ Sean J. Lane

Sean J. Lane

SJL/ld

cc: Ms. Leslie Branch-Wise, Denver Police Department (Via Email Transmission)
Mr. Tony Kovaleski, KMGH TV (Via Email Transmission)
Ms. Anusha Roy, KUSA TV (Via Email Transmission)
Mr. Jeremy Jojola, KUSA TV (Via Email Transmission)
Mr. Rick Sallinger, CBS4 TV (Via Email Transmission)
Mr. Jon Murray, Denver Post (Via Email Transmission)
Mr. Craig Silverman, 710 KNUS (Via Email Transmission)
Ms. Carisa Scott, KDVR TV (Via Email Transmission)
Ms. Julie Hayden, Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle (Via Email Transmission)