Aurora City Council Votes To Keep Harold Johnson On Civil Service Commission
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - The Aurora City Council voted 6-5 on Monday night against a proposal to remove retired Denver Fire Captain Harold Johnson from the Aurora Civil Service Commission. A CBS4 Investigates report first broke the news last month that council members were not aware of Johnson's work history when they voted unanimously to appoint him to the position.
The Denver Fire Department had terminated Johnson in 2015 for lying, compromising the safety of subordinates, "bullying" and "volatile" behavior and being "sexist and racist towards others."
"I am embarrassed and appalled at my vote," said Aurora Councilman Dave Gruber, who introduced the motion to remove Johnson from the commission.
The motion required eight votes to pass, but only five council members voted in favor: Dave Gruber, Curtis Gardner, Marsha Berzins, Mayor Pro Tem Francoise Bergan and Mayor Mike Coffman.
Johnson had been with DFD for 21 years prior to his 2015 firing. In his termination letter, the department wrote he was being cut loose due to "Your repeated use of racial epithets; your pornographic and sophomoric comments at work; your demeaning treatment of women; your commitment to your personal cellphone over your duty to your crew and citizens; and your inability to tell the truth have no place in the Denver Fire Department or the Department of Safety."
Johnson told CBS4 he applied for the Aurora Civil Service Commission job at the urging of a friend but said he was "shocked" when they called him to tell him he was appointed to the five-member board.