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07/14 14:35 CDT SafeSport hired ex-police officer whose actions led to a $24M civil verdict against her department SafeSport hired ex-police officer whose actions led to a $24M civil verdict against her department By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer PARKER, Colo. (AP) --- The U.S. Center for SafeSport hired a former police officer a year after she quit the force while subject of a malicious prosecution lawsuit that resulted in a $24 million verdict against her department. The case alleged that detective Shannon Brukbacher wrongfully arrested a man, Robert Dial, on charges of evidence tampering and being an accessory in a fatal shooting involving his son. Brukbacher's hiring at the center was announced Oct. 27, 2025, a year after she had retired from the force in Parker, Colorado --- not far from the headquarters of the Denver-based center, which investigates sex-abuse cases involving Olympic sports. The hiring also came about a year after Dial filed the lawsuit in which he alleged false arrest and malicious prosecution in a case that stemmed from his son's fatal shooting of a roommate. Dial won the $24 million verdict in May. Her lawyers appealed the verdict last week. "She's led numerous high-profile investigations, involving Sexual Assault (child and adult victims), and crimes against children," the center's deputy vice president of investigations, Eric Williams, wrote in a letter to staff announcing Brukbacher's hire, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press. "Furthermore, she served as a trusted witness in Colorado's 18th Judicial District." Though it had revamped its hiring practices in the wake of the hiring and firing of a Pennsylvania vice cop --- an episode that led to the ouster of the center's CEO and drew scrutiny from U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa --- the center told the AP its search "yielded no information about the pending litigation." The center said it has since added civil litigation to its list of background check requirements. It also said Brukbacher no longer works there.

Center's history of hiring problems led to upheaval Brukbacher's hiring came less than a year after the firing of Jason Krasley. Krasley was the Pennsylvania police officer whom the center fired in November 2024 after learning of his arrest for allegedly stealing money seized in a drug bust he'd been involved in while on the force. Later, he was arrested and charged with sex crimes. Though the center was unaware of his alleged crimes when it hired Krasley, the episode led to upheaval across the organization, which often hires ex-cops as investigators because many have experience handling sensitive interviews and investigations involving sex abuse. While Krasley's arrest increased the center's focus on criminal background checks and reference checks in its hiring process, and also placed the CEO and other higher-ups in the chain of command for hiring investigators, the changes did not cause any red flags to be raised about Brukbacher, who was not charged criminally. She was lauded by the Parker Police Department when she retired as an "advocate for justice" whose "impact on the department and community will be felt for years to come." After learning of the lawsuit, the center hired outside counsel to analyze cases Brukbacher was involved in and said the attorneys found no reason to revisit those cases. Her open cases were reassigned.

Lawsuit came after Dial quickly secured a lawyer for his son following shooting The lawsuit resulted from Dial's 2022 arrest for accessory to murder or evidence tampering that came shortly after his son, Cameron, shot and killed one roommate and wounded another. According to the lawsuit, Dial's arrest was based on an affidavit Brukbacher filed after he sought a lawyer for his son, shortly after the son had called and told him he had shot his roommates after they tried to attack him. Cameron Dial later pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is serving a nine-year prison sentence. According to the lawsuit, Brukbacher was frustrated that Dial had called a lawyer for his son so shortly after the shooting. It said Brukbacher arrested Dial based on testimony from the surviving victim, who said she overheard Dial tell his son to hide the gun. The lawsuit said the witness was not credible and that police easily found the gun at the scene. Three months after the killing, Dial, who lived in New Jersey, flew to the Denver airport, where Brukbacher met him on the jet bridge and arrested him as he was exiting the plane. "I think that was done to intimidate me," Dial told CBS Colorado. "I think they were trying to coerce me into talking with them about the case." Dial said his arrest went on his record and ruined his career as an investment broker. The charges against Dial remain on his disclosures page, listed as dismissed, on the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority website. In May, a jury awarded Dial $22 million in financial damages and $2 million in pain and suffering. Officials in Parker told CBS they disagreed with the verdict and are reviewing their options. Last month, the Parker Town Council passed an ordinance to indemnify Brukbacher, meaning she won't be held personally liable for the damages. The ordinance places the town in compliance with state law, which calls on cities to indemnify employees for damage in civil lawsuits unless they determine the employee did not act in good faith and with reasonable belief that their action was lawful. ___ AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports

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