Mark Beckner

Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner retires today. He held the job longer than anyone. He worked for BPD for over a 1/4 century. He is educated, smart , thoughtful and epitomizes a modern day chief of Police. We were lucky to have him.

BEST POLICE CHIEF BOULDER HAS EVER HAD

As a TV talk show host and personality Mark Beckners’ police department always treated me fairly even when the majority of the Boulder city council and mayor wanted my head. Beckner would not budge and protected my right to free speech both on TV and in this column.  On multiple occasions he backed a free press here in Boulder. Boulder has been a place where my brand of talk was able to flourish because of the Boulder Police department and in spite of prevailing “nanny nation politics” of the 2000 -2007 Boulder council.  Boulder police also worked with me and us here at Boulder channel 1 to ensure the safety of our staff from crazed fans of a multitude of colors. Boulder should appreciate just what a great chief Mark Beckner was.  I did not always agreed with him and voiced my disapproval at times  and he was nothing but professional and courteous to me when I did not deserve it.

MARK BECKNER DID SOLVE THE RAMSEY CASE AND HE IS A HERO 

The Ramsey case had blown up in 1999. Commander John Eller had been removed as the lead investigator .. The DA Alex Hunter  and Eller were fighting. ” Can you imagine having someone like Eller leading this murder investigation”  Hunter once told me.  The DA’s office had blown up too. Hunter had just fired Trip Demuth for publicly going with the intruder theory. “Intruder my ass” Hunter said. ” What’s going to happen when Burke Ramsey comes of age and want to tell the  story?”

Then Police Chief Tom Koby assigned Commander Mark Beckner to head up the investigation. And that he did. Quietly and diligently Beckner and his detectives went through the entire case and came up with one conclusion.

That Patsy Ramsey had murdered 6 year old  JonBenet Ramsey Christmas night when Patsy  was high and drunk. Patsy grabbed Jonbenet and smashed her head into the bathtub after Jonbenet had wet herself.  The rest of the night was spent covering up the crime with her husband John by concocting an elaborate horrific crime scene. Then Police chief Tom Koby told me: “What appears to have happened is generally what has happened in cases like this and only the facts prove that out”.

Mark Beckner became a hero when he followed the facts,  the case evidence and put a bullet proof murder case together for the Grand Jury.  Alex Hunter refused to indite John and Patsy because he ” wanted Burke Ramseys’ testimony”.

Well, now Mark Beckner is retiring and Alex Hunter is dying from Cancer in Hawaii.  I fully expect that current DA Stan Garnett will drop a bomb shell on the Ramsey case by arresting John Ramsey for the murder  and indict Burke Ramsey for covering up little JonBenets murder. ( lets just hope he does not mysteriously die before then)

Garnett is clearing all of the murder cases his office has and JonBenet Ramsey is next.

We have not seen the last of Mark Beckner, either. He may say he wants to teach or umpire baseball.  But he will be back to finish that case I assure you. Look for him to be a paid consultant during the trial. Look too for the trial of the century to take place here in Boulder and look for a conviction.  I will also predict that after that Stan Garnett will become out next attorney general and Mark Beckner will be heralded as the detective who solved the Ramsey case.

from

idyllic Boulder Colorado

Jann Scott