AURORA, Colo. — An Aurora police officer was fired this week for being untruthful about leaving work early over a period of a month last year, department officials announced Wednesday.
Officer Robert Lyons left work early on nine days, totaling 34.25 hours, without receiving authorization from his supervisor, police said in a news release.
Chief Vanessa Wilson decided to fire Lyons, finding him in violation of department standards for unsatisfactory performance, request for leave and making a false or untruthful declaration. Police said Lyons told his supervisor that he hadn't taken time off during the hours he left early.
“A police officer who chooses to be dishonest forfeits their credibility and becomes ineffective to the judicial system, our police department and the community we serve," Wilson said in a statement. "My commitment to rebuild trust with our community will not tolerate such deceptive conduct of an officer who has been given the privilege to wear this badge."
Lyons had been on the force since 2017 and was assigned to patrol.
Lyons' firing was latest in a string of terminations among Aurora police.
Last week, Wilson fired an officer, Robert Rosen, over an excessive force complaint involving him using his Taser on a man at a grocery store.
The Aurora Civil Service Commission this month also upheld the firings of three officers involved in a photo scandal at the memorial site for Elijah McClain. The photo showed officers mocking the carotid hold used on McClain before he died in August 2019.
