EPPD Questions

[William Oster]

Good morning Travis, I hope your Friday is going well --

In light of the police chief's announcement of his retirement, we at the Trail-Gazette had several questions about the future hiring process for an interim chief, the internal investigation, and the state of the department currently. Our questions are below:

• How long will the internal investigation take regarding the people on administrative leave? What is the cost of the internal investigation?
• Did the Loveland Police Department enter a bid to do this investigation?
• How and why was the Loveland Police Department chosen to conduct the investigation? What other expertise do they have in internal affairs investigations?
• Do the employees on administrative leave face being charged with any crimes? Have the employees on leave been told that they are possibly facing criminal charges?
• How much money will be needed to conduct a search for a new police chief? How will that be budgeted for? Will that come out of the police department's budget or out of the town's administrative budget?
• When do you expect the search for a new police chief to begin? How long will the search take?
• Was Chief Hayes suspended? If so, for how long? What were the circumstances? When was this suspension? Why was he brought back on duty and when?
  
• What was the arrangement for Chief Hayes in terms of working remotely from his home in Louisville? How many days a week did he work remotely? In the office in Estes Park?
• Why is Hayes continuing to advise the EPPD past December 22 as a consultant? What will he be working on?
  
• Why was Hayes initially hired? This has been a short tenure so it seems like a sudden turn of events. Did he know he would only be with EPPD for a short time? What were Hayes' specific skills that made him the best candidate?
  
• Now that Hayes is retiring from EPPD, and not Louisville or Boulder, is Estes Park responsible for paying his pension? What is the process within the State of Colorado for municipalities to fund police pensions?
  
• How many times was Deputy Chief Jim Hughes placed on administrative leave?
• Is Deputy Chief Jim Huges currently on administrative leave?
• We understand that there are only two police officers on duty each evening in Estes Park. Is this every night? What is the backup plan when there are multiple incidents happening within town in the evenings? Are Friday or Saturday nights any busier than weekdays? How does the winter compare to the summer coverage and activity? How does the Larimer County Sheriff stay involved when there is lighter coverage in Estes Park? What is the next municipality to help with coverage? (ie., Loveland?)

Please provide a response by EOD on Monday. Thank you for responding to our email and we look forward to hearing from you.

--

William Oster

Lead Reporter, Estes Park Trail-Gazette

720-289-3233

[Kate Miller]

Hi William,

Thanks for your email. We'll work on responses for you.

Kate Miller

Public Information Officer

Town of Estes Park

970-577-3701

[Travis Machalek]

Good afternoon William,

Answers to your questions in blue below:

• How long will the internal investigation take regarding the people on administrative leave? What is the cost of the internal investigation?

• They are completed by outside agencies and there is no fee to the town. The duration of each internal affairs investigation is dependent on the circumstances surrounding the incident. 
  

• Did the Loveland Police Department enter a bid to do this investigation?

• The Loveland Police Department is conducting the criminal investigation, not any of the internal affairs investigations. There is no bidding nor cost associated with criminal law enforcement investigations. 
  

• How and why was the Loveland Police Department chosen to conduct the investigation? What other expertise do they have in internal affairs investigations?

• The decision for Loveland PD was made based on current resources and staff expertise, after consulting with other law enforcement partners in Larimer County. Loveland PD has the expertise and resources to conduct criminal investigations. We have confidence in the Loveland Chief to appropriately staff and resource the investigation. To clarify, Loveland PD is not conducting any internal affairs investigations.
  

• Do the employees on administrative leave face being charged with any crimes? Have the employees on leave been told that they are possibly facing criminal charges?

• As stated in our news release, two of the employees are also under criminal investigation as determined by Loveland PD. The investigation will help determine if they face charges. These employees have been contacted by Loveland PD.
  

• How much money will be needed to conduct a search for a new police chief? How will that be budgeted for? Will that come out of the police department's budget or out of the town's administrative budget?

• The 2022 process included the hiring of a consultant, travel expenses, and miscellaneous costs for a total expenditure of $29,103.67. There are a few options for the next recruitment process that I am considering at this time. That will affect the cost and funding source. We will provide more information on that when it’s available. Recruitment budgets typically come out of the relevant department's funds, though it is worth noting here that both the Police Department and Town Administrator are General Fund departments, and as such rely on the same pool of funds. 
  

• When do you expect the search for a new police chief to begin? How long will the search take?

• I plan to begin the search for a new Police Chief in early 2024. The duration of the search depends on factors including the quality of the applicant pool, timing availability for interviews, background checks, etc. 
  

• Was Chief Hayes suspended? If so, for how long? What were the circumstances? When was this suspension? Why was he brought back on duty and when?
  

• Chief Hayes has never been suspended.
  

• What was the arrangement for Chief Hayes in terms of working remotely from his home in Louisville? How many days a week did he work remotely? In the office in Estes Park?

• Chief Hayes does not routinely work remotely from his home in Louisville. He does frequently travel to professional meetings outside the Estes Valley in the course of his duties. 
  

• Why is Hayes continuing to advise the EPPD past December 22 as a consultant? What will he be working on?
  

• Chief Hayes will not be advising the EPPD past December 22 as a consultant. He has agreed to be available if the Interim Chief or the next Police Chief have any questions or need any information. I appreciate his commitment to ensuring a smooth transition. 
  

• Why was Hayes initially hired? This has been a short tenure so it seems like a sudden turn of events. Did he know he would only be with EPPD for a short time? What were Hayes' specific skills that made him the best candidate?
  

• I hired Chief Hayes after a thorough recruitment process in 2022. His extensive experience in law enforcement in Colorado, specifically at the executive level, made him stand out as a candidate.  
  

• Now that Hayes is retiring from EPPD, and not Louisville or Boulder, is Estes Park responsible for paying his pension? What is the process within the State of Colorado for municipalities to fund police pensions?
  

• The Town matches a bi-weekly contribution to a defined contribution retirement plan for all sworn police department employees during their employment with the Town, only. The Town’s percentage match to this retirement plan is equivalent to the percentage that the Town contributes to non-sworn employees’ retirement accounts through PERA, which is set by state statute. That is the extent of the Town’s involvement in employee retirement funds.
  

• How many times was Deputy Chief Jim Hughes placed on administrative leave?

• Twice.
  

• Is Deputy Chief Jim Huges currently on administrative leave?

• Yes.

• We understand that there are only two police officers on duty each evening in Estes Park. Is this every night? What is the backup plan when there are multiple incidents happening within town in the evenings? Are Friday or Saturday nights any busier than weekdays? How does the winter compare to the summer coverage and activity? How does the Larimer County Sheriff stay involved when there is lighter coverage in Estes Park? What is the next municipality to help with coverage? (ie., Loveland?)

• We often have more than two police officers on duty in the evening. Our minimum staffing is two officers, but additional officers are on duty during shift overlap times and special events, etc. In addition, an on-call command staff member is available 24/7/365, and an on-call duty officer/supervisor is available as needed.
• Law enforcement agencies have mutual aid agreements to support one another when needed. When we need or provide assistance, we typically work with the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office, the National Park Service, the Loveland Police Department, and the Colorado State Patrol.    
• Friday and Saturday nights during the summer are somewhat busier than the rest of the week. Our staffing is augmented by our 17-member Police Auxiliary, 8 seasonal Community Service Officers, State Patrol Officers assigned to the Estes Valley, and Larimer County Deputies assigned to the Estes Park District. Call load drops considerably during the winter months.    
  

I am in receipt of your questions from this morning as well, and will be working on them tomorrow.

Best,

TM

Travis Machalek, ICMA-CM

Town Administrator

Town of Estes Park, CO

970-577-3705

On Fri, Dec 1, 2023 at 12:10 PM William Oster <wos...@prairiemountainmedia.com> wrote: