Pubdate: Fri, 16 Feb 2001
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2001 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  1560 Broadway, Denver, CO 80202
Fax: (303) 820.1502
Website: http://www.denverpost.com/
Forum: http://www.denverpost.com/voice/voice.htm
Author: Monte Whaley

DEPUTY SUSPENDED IN ECSTASY DEATH CASE

Feb. 16, 2001 - BOULDER - A Boulder County sheriff's deputy has been 
suspended and taken off the street as punishment for his handling of 
the Ecstasy drug overdose of 16-year-old Brittney Chambers.

A second deputy who responded early Jan. 28 to the Superior home 
where Chambers took the pill is still waiting to learn his fate.

Kirk Watson and Kenneth Batka were the first deputies to respond 
after Chambers reacted to the Ecstasy she took during a celebration 
of her 16th birthday.

Chambers later lapsed into a coma and died Feb. 2 as a result of 
ingesting the designer drug.

Watson and Batka showed up at 1 a.m. Jan. 28 and saw that Chambers 
was taken by ambulance to Boulder Community Hospital.

But eight other teens, who also supposedly took Ecstasy, were not 
taken to the hospital to be examined until about 6 a.m., when 
officers returned to Chambers' mother's house.

Much of the probe into the two deputies' actions focused on why they 
didn't call for help at the scene when they arrived, Sheriff George 
Epp has said.

Watson was placed on administrative leave during the review. He will 
now serve a three-day suspension without pay and be sent back to his 
former position at the county jail. Watson couldn't be reached for 
comment.

Batka was also placed on administrative leave for two days but has 
returned to his patrol duties. He still could face more sanctions 
following further review by Epp, which will take another week.
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MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe