Officer(s) Involved: Federal Heights Police Department Sergeant Pablo Cesar Vazquez
Synopsis: Discipline documents from the Federal Heights Police Department, where Vazquez worked as a sergeant, outline serious allegations of lackadaisical police work, tardiness and lack of care for safety. Vazquez was the subject of five investigations by the Internal Affairs department.
“Sergeant Vazquez operates with a lack of care for his own safety and the safety of his officers,” an internal affairs report from the Federal Heights Police Department says. “…Vazquez appears to be incompetent and treats his officers harshly.”
Another officer said he had “lost confidence in Sergeant Vazquez as a leader.” An officer reported that he “felt unsafe working under Sergeant Vazquez and was concerned that the Sergeant’s method of supervision was putting himself and others on the shift in danger.”
The report outlines numerous other allegations against Vazquez, including abuse of break time, tardiness and lack of preparedness for duty.
In September 2019, Federal Heights police put Vazquez on a performance improvement plan, noting that “Sergeant Vazquez’s documented failure to provide adequate supervision presented a significant risk of liability to the City of Federal Heights and the safety of the officers under his supervision.”
In 2020, a Federal Heights patrol commander recommended suspension and a demotion for Vazquez when he failed to follow a performance improvement plan.
Outcome: In 2020, a Federal Heights supervisor recommended that Vazquez be suspended and demoted for failing to follow the performance improvement plan. According to published reports, Vazquez resigned from the Federal Heights Police Department in March 2020.
According to available information, Vasquez then joined the Platteville Police Department, where he was involved in an incident resulting in serious injuries to a handcuffed suspect who was placed in his vehicle while it was parked on tracks and then struck by a freight train. That story can be found here.
