Posts tagged Mark Beckner
BPD: Chief Beckner moving on
Feb 18th
Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner today announced his retirement effective April 1 after 36 years as a Boulder police officer. Beckner joined the department in 1978 as a patrol officer, became a detective, sergeant, hostage negotiator, commander, including commander of the SWAT team, and, in 1998, was selected as Boulder’s police chief.
Beckner retiring after 36 years with BPD
“Throughout Chief Beckner’s career, he has served with honor and integrity,” said City Manager Jane Brautigam. “His commitment helped to define the culture of the Boulder Police Department and what our community expects from its public servants. I am very grateful to have had Mark’s counsel and experience as we dealt with community emergencies from wildfires to last year’s enormous flood, and as we worked to make Boulder a safer community. Through his leadership, we have built a strong police department that will continue to serve and protect the community for years to come.”
During Beckner’s tenure as chief, the Police Department opened the Communications Center, implemented the motorcycle traffic unit, received Colorado Accreditation through the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, created the Major Crimes Unit, oversaw the planning and construction of the police training center and firearms range, brought Animal Control Services and Code Enforcement under the department, and worked with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to create, fund, and staff a CBI DNA lab in the Boulder Police Department.
“It has been a privilege and an honor to serve Boulder,” said Beckner. “Over the past 36 years, we’ve covered a lot of ground from riots to Presidential visits, but what I will treasure most is the interactions and support from the community as we faced tragedies and celebrated successes together. “Boulder has been a very rewarding career,” he said. “I am very appreciative to have served with so many fine men and women who helped build a strong, honorable department. And while it’s difficult to close this final chapter of a long and exciting career in law enforcement, I know that the department is in very capable hands, and I’m looking forward to new opportunities in my future.”
Over the next few weeks, Brautigam will be working with the police and city human resources departments to develop a search process for Boulder’s next police chief.
–CITY–
Mark Beckner: Fleet White not involved in JonBenets Murder…..mmm—kay
Jan 25th
The Whites
For the third time in 15 years Boulder Police have repeatedly said Fleet White was not involved in JonBenets murder. Why do they keep bringing up Fleet White then ?? And why now ? Why after reporter Charlie Brennan got the DA to release the Grand Jury findings which say John and Patsy Ramsey did it ?? White was in the house the day of the murder, but why do the police keep going back to him ?? Are they setting a trap?? And for whom? Jon Ramsey ? These are the actions of a trap setter. Why are the police bringing this case back to life by retelling the whole saga of Fleet White and John Ramsey ??
The Ramseys
JonBenet at 6 in 1996. She’d be 24 in 2014.
The Saga is in short John Ramsey and Fleet white were best friends. They entertained together. JonBenet was friends with Whites daughter. White was with John Ramsey when he found JonBenets Body. But when John Ramsey and his wife Patsy went to Atlanta and went on CNN to claim their innocence… white and Ramsey had a huge falling out. Some say almost deadly and there were reports of a fight over a handgun on a couch. White became a prime witness for the prosecution but in the meanwhile a California woman came forward and claimed white and his father had abused her. The tabloids and and some attorneys got a hold of the story and it blew up into a tawdry scandal. This case and story was laced with inappropriate sexuality concerning children and the pageant industry.
Fleet White again wants the police to clear his name. Fine. But, Until John Ramsey is arrested and convicted by Boulder Police , DA and Boulder Jury there will be no peace for anyone involved. The Ghost of JonBenet can be heard still to this day, screaming in the Boulder midnight January howling winds ” mommy why did you kill me??” listen carefully at night Boulder, you can hear here little voice.
Mark Beckner wants this case solved before he retires.
FROM BOULDER POLICE
To correct past inaccurate statements and speculation appearing in the media, and at the request of Fleet and Priscilla White, the Boulder Police Department releases the following statement:
Since December 26, 1996, the homicide of JonBenet Ramsey has been the subject of widespread news reports and speculation by the media. A great deal of that reporting and speculation targeted innocent community members whose only connection to the crime was as cooperating witnesses. This includes the Fleet White, Jr. family of Boulder who suffered embarrassment and damage to their reputations. The Boulder Police Department recognizes the suffering the Whites have endured as a result of the accusations made against the White family during the course of the investigation.
The Boulder Police Department investigators have always considered the White family to only be witnesses in this case. The Boulder Police Department has never considered the White family to be suspects in the case. In 2000, the police department did investigate allegations made by a California woman to District Attorney Alex Hunter, as reported in the press, that were intended to cast suspicion on the White family. The department found no evidence to support the unfounded allegations. There has never been any evidence to link the White family to the JonBenet Ramsey homicide.
We wish to express our gratitude for the White family’s cooperation and contributions in regard to the investigation of JonBenet’s death.
Mark R. Beckner
Chief of Police
Boulder Police chief Mark Beckner asks media vampires to “would you Please!”
Aug 24th
In the late 1990s then police chief Tom Koby tried to reel the news media in over their frenzy feed coverage of the JonBennet murder. It back fired. Mark Beckner is all to aware of that episode and is cautious to repeat the tenor of that kind of reprimand. We did many Jann Scott Live TV shows about the news media rape of Boulder during that time.
One recommendation we have to Chief Beckner is for the Boulder PD to put up Media information on their website. The following is Mark Beckners’ letter to the media:
Dear members of the media:
As you know, we are a mid-size agency in a college town with lots of activity that tends to draw media attention. Unfortunately, we only have one PIO. While we take our media relationships, opportunities and responsibilities seriously, it is not reasonable to ask or expect one person to be on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We have established some guidelines in the past with previous PIO’s and identified procedures the media should follow in getting updates or information after hours. Over time, and as turnover has occurred, these procedures have not been utilized. Although not new, I’d like to remind everyone of what these procedures are.
- · Our PIO is generally available (303-441-3370) and happy to help you with all your inquiries during normal working hours (M-F, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm, with the exception of holidays and vacation). If you would like an update on a major case, we request that you call toward the end of the normal work day (M-F, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm) to obtain the latest information, rather than waiting until the evening hours to call. If not immediately available during business hours, our PIO will get back to you as soon as possible.
- · If you have routine questions or want some information on something that has happened or is happening after hours, the proper procedure is to call our dispatch center at 303-441-3333. Dispatch will field your request and forward it to an on-duty supervisor who will get back to you as soon as he/she can. Calling our PIO after hours is not helpful, as she is unlikely to have immediate access to the information.
- · We recommend that weekend reporters look ahead for stories they may wish to cover on the weekends and conduct any necessary interviews in advance. Unless something new develops or assistance is requested by an incident commander, our PIO will not be available for standup interviews to help media organizations catch up on stories that occurred during the work week.
- · Should we have a major event or major crime develop after hours that we know will attract a lot of immediate media attention, or there is a public safety need to get the information out quickly, the incident commander will contact our PIO to assist with providing you with information in a timely manner. This may occur in the form of a press release and phone interviews or the PIO responding to the scene. If the PIO is not available, someone will be assigned to act as a PIO for the particular incident, usually a Sergeant or Commander
- · If you need a copy of a closed or cleared report, you may contact our Records and Information Services unit (RIS) at 303-441-3300. This number may be called at any time of day as RIS is typically available 24 hours a day (except some holidays). RIS is the only unit that can release reports. Calling the PIO for a copy of a report can actually take more time, as she has to relay the request to RIS for processing. The RIS staff will be able to tell you if the report is available to the public. Reports on open investigations are generally not available to the public. Our PIO can answer questions about individual cases or provide general information, but is not expected to read case reports to
reporters over the phone.
Please know that it is unlikely that an after-hours on-duty supervisor will be able to give you updates on cases being investigated by detectives or those that occurred on a previous shift. For these situations, it is best to check in with the PIO during regular hours. If something new should happen in one of these types of cases after hours and immediate release of this information is necessary, the detective commander will contact the PIO and ask her to alert you
We are committed to be as informative as possible and we greatly appreciate the opportunity to work with you on communicating important public safety information. These procedures are intended to help meet your needs while recognizing the staffing limitations of our department.
Please let me know if you have any questions about these procedures. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Mark R. Beckner
Chief of Police
Boulder, Colorado
