A Colorado police chief has some harsh words for a former legislator who complained when he was awakened by notifications about a missing teenager who is developmentally challenged.
“I regret that the phone notifications took you from your beauty rest,” Colorado Springs Police Chief Pete Carey wrote in a Sunday email to Douglas Bruce. “In truth, the beauty rest ain’t working anyway.”
Here’s the full email, which was obtained and published by the Colorado Springs Gazette:
Mr. Bruce - While I can’t honestly say that I appreciated it, I did want you to know I received your e-mail.
The notifications you received involved an “at risk” 15 year-old who went missing during bad weather, prompting various alerts in the specific area. We are blessed in that she was found fairly quickly, due partly to the advisories that went out.
I regret that the phone notifications took you from your beauty rest. In truth, the beauty rest ain’t working anyway.
Your complete lack of care, concern and compassion for anyone but yourself fits perfectly with your obnoxious and bullying personality.
Perhaps some day you will be the person of interest that is missing and will need the public’s help in locating you. Perhaps not, as that would actually require someone to miss you enough to make an initial report.
Moving forward, I will see what I can do to remove you from notifications for anything but your sole, personal welfare, if you promise to remove my e-mail address from any more boorish correspondence you choose to send.
Sometimes less really is more.
Chief Pete Carey
Carey’s email was in response to one that Bruce had sent him earlier in the day. Bruce had complained he was awakened by two automated calls about a missing teenager.
Bruce’s email read, in part:
“TRY to exercise some judgment and common sense about the timing of random calls to citizens … what do you expect me to DO at midnight about some juvenile in the city who does not tell her parents where she is? I have no role in finding other people’s thoughtless or runaway children. I see a story and update are both in the Gazette; I assume it was the same girl who, unlike E.T., did not ‘phone home.’”
The Colorado Springs Independent also obtained and published the text of both Bruce’s email and Carey’s reply. The outlet noted that Bruce supplied them with a copy of the emails and that the police department confirmed that Carey’s response was authentic.
Bruce, 67, is a former state representative, county commissioner and convicted criminal. He served jail time in 2012 for several felony crimes, including tax evasion and trying to influence a public servant.
Carey said he does not regret sending out the alert and that it assisted in finding the missing teen.
Bruce told Colorado Springs’ KKTV News he was “shocked” by Carey’s email, which he reportedly forwarded to Mayor John Suthers.
However, Colorado Springs City Councilman Dave Geislinger told the Gazette he does not anticipate city involvement.
“Incivility begets incivility,” Geislinger said. “And it’s kind of unrealistic to expect that somebody can send an email in a clearly uncivil tone and expect a civil response, that’s not the way humanity works.”
David Lohr covers crime and missing persons. Tips? Feedback? Send an email or follow him on Twitter.
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