DENVER (KDVR) — The Denver Sheriff Department confirmed Friday that its chief of staff for Interim Sheriff Fran Gomez has been placed on investigatory leave. Alfredo Hernandez was removed from his position on Thursday but will continue to be paid while the city investigates.

A sheriff’s spokeswoman wouldn’t say why Hernandez was under investigation but his departure comes one day after he was involved in a contentious meeting with City Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca.

A Facebook post created by CdeBaca’s Chief of Staff Lisa Calderon and shared on CdeBaca’s Facebook page said, “The boys will be boys culture continues at City Hall. Yesterday we were ‘mansplained’ by the interim Sheriff’s chief of staff & community engagement director when talking about a culture dominated by men.”

According to Calderon, Hernandez and Bennie Milliner, the sheriff department’s community engagement director, were introducing Gomez to various council members in small meetings when the conversation with CdeBaca got heated over issues of gender equity and pay parity.

FOX31 obtained a copy of a Thursday night email sent by Gomez to department staff that reads, “Good Evening All, Chief of Staff Alfredo Hernandez is out of the office until further notice.”

Hernandez became chief of staff just three months ago. Before that, he spent 2 1/2 years with Denver’s Department of Public Safety as a civilian review administrator.

While at DPS, he wrote discipline reports against law enforcement members accused of policy violations. He also spent 17 years as a prosecutor, mostly with the Denver District Attorney’s Office.