Denver Police Chief Retires after Nearly 30 Years with Department

Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen will retire in October after nearly 30 years with the department and four years at the helm, the city announced Wednesday.

Pazen's tenure as chief saw 2½ years of the COVID-19 pandemic, a nationwide struggle to recruit and retain police officers, historic protests in Denver mirroring others sparked by George Floyd's death in Minneapolis, and the expansion of programs intended to provide an alternative response to police.

"Chief Pazen has had a distinguished career with the Denver Police Department, and over his nearly three decades in law enforcement, he has served the residents of our city at nearly every level of the department, including its highest rank, with integrity and a community-focused approach to policing," Mayor Michael Hancock said in a statement.

Pazen will retire Oct. 15. Hancock has nominated Patrol Division Chief Ron Thomas as the next chief, who will take over in an acting role Sept. 6. His nomination requires City Council's approval.

Pazen took over in June 2018 after former Chief Robert White's retirement, having served as the commander of the Police Department's District One. He also served in the Marines for five years.

Since Pazen — long rumored as a potential mayoral candidate next spring — took over the department, Denver has faced public safety challenges both distinctive to the city and mirroring broader trends. Denver has struggled with a spike in homicides, which have ticked up since 2019, and the agency has prioritized taking illegally possessed guns off the streets.

Earlier this year the city lost a $13.75 million judgment in a federal excessive force lawsuit over how the police department handled 2020's racial justice protests. More recently, the agency faces a grand jury investigation initiated by Denver District Attorney Beth McCann for an incident in Lower Downtown when police injured six bystanders during a confrontation with a Black man whom they say pointed a gun at officers. Officers shot the man, Jordan Waddy, several times.

But Denver has received praise for the Support Team Assisted Response program launched in 2020 that sends pairs of mental health clinicians and paramedics to low-level, nonviolent calls instead of police. After initially being operated by the Department of Safety, the program's operations transitioned to the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment last year.

STAR has been viewed as a success for reducing the need for police in circumstances involving people in crisis better suited for a behavioral health response, though the city has received criticism that it has sidelined input in the program from communities most impacted by policing and police violence.

___

Visit The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.) at www.gazette.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.