Denver’s sheriff, fire and police chiefs reappointed after City Council vote

Denver’s police chief, fire chief, sheriff and public safety director will continue to serve as part of Mayor Mike Johnston’s administration after the City Council unanimously approved their reappointments on Monday.

Ron Thomas will remain the chief of the Denver Police Department, a role he was first appointed to by Johnston’s predecessor, Michael Hancock, in October 2022. Thomas joined DPD in 1989 and served in various roles over the decades including in the department’s investigations, special operations and patrol divisions.

Denver Fire Chief Desmond Fulton has 25 years of experience in his department. Hancock first appointed him in 2020.

Elias Diggins remains the city’s sheriff, leading the department that operates Denver’s two jails. He is also a department veteran originally appointed by Hancock. He joined the Denver Sheriff Department in 1994.

Finally, Armando Saldate III will remain in his role as executive director of the Department of Public Safety. Hancock first picked him for that cabinet post in 2022.  His department oversees the other three public safety agencies as well as Denver 9-1-1, Community Corrections and other public-safety-related offices and services in the city.

The four appointments passed unanimously as part of the council consent agenda, but Councilwoman Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez did call them out for comments. She emphasized that the council was not rubber-stamping Johnston’s choices for what she considers the most consequential jobs in the administration.

She called for an independent survey to be done of the rank-and-file employees of each of the public safety departments sometime over the next two years so that the public and council can assess the four leaders’ performance.

“I see it as all of our responsibility to take those kinds of assessments and act on them to improve the services for the people of Denver,” she said.

Johnston’s selection process was subject to further scrutiny later in the meeting when Lisa Calderón spoke during the meeting’s public comment period. Calderón, a nonprofit leader and criminal justice reform advocate who came in third place in the 2023 mayoral election, criticized the sheriff and fire departments in particular for alleged sexism that prevented women from moving up the ranks.

She called for changes to the appointment process in the future to give the public a voice.

The four appointees did speak at Monday’s meeting.

“I’m committed to the mayor (and) committed to the city,” Thomas told The Denver Post in an interview earlier in the afternoon. “I intend to be here for a long time and continue to be of faithful service to the citizens of Denver.”

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