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Denver jail deputy suspended for 30 days for 'veritable grit storm' incident

The deputy flung an inmate's tray full of grits, according to a City and County of Denver document.

DENVER — A Denver County Jail deputy has been suspended for 30 days after flinging an inmate's food tray full of grits, according to a document from the City and County of Denver's Career Service Board.

Deputy Darrell Jordan was working in the Building 20 Dorm of the jail, where he was overseeing the service of breakfast to the inmates, according to the document, which is dated May 16.

The document says that morning, an inmate only identified as "IN" tried to get coffee, but Jordan wouldn't give him any because he didn't have the right kind of cup. The inmate then sat down at a table and traded his food with other inmates to get more grits.

The inmate left about five minutes later and came back with a coffee cup, according to the document, but the deputy didn't let him have any coffee because the food line had closed.

The two briefly argued, the document says, then Jordan ordered the inmate out of the room to a bench in the hallway. The inmate thought he could take his food tray with him, and picked it up. Jordan, however, did not allow him to take it with him, the document says.

After more arguing, Jordan flung the inmate's tray upward, causing it to rain grits, as the document describes it. The document goes on to say that the deputy's action created a "veritable grit storm," with grits going everywhere.

The Denver Sheriff Department determined that Jordan had engaged in misconduct, which violated Career Service Rules that required Jordan to "maintain a satisfactory working relationship with co-workers and other individuals, and which required (Jordan) to comply with all internal agency rules," the document states.

Jordan had previously served a 10-day suspension for use of inappropriate force, the document says.

Jordan appealed the ruling to the Career Service Board on several grounds, including that the Career Service Rule had been misinterpreted, he was simply "attempting to maintain control over the dorm" and that he "had no malice in his heart," according to the document.

The board affirmed the Sheriff Department's decision, upholding the 30-day suspension.

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