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View Full Version : Denver Sheriff appointed?



def90
10-15-2015, 08:29
Is the Denver Sheriff's position not an elected position? What's the difference at that point between the Chief of Police and Sheriff?

http://kdvr.com/2015/10/15/mayor-to-announce-new-denver-sheriff-thursday-morning/

"Mayor Michael Hancock will announce the new Denver sheriff on Thursday morning.The announcement will be made at the City and County Building and comes after a nationwide search was conducted by the independent consulting firm Hillard Heintze. Twenty-five people applied for the job."

GunsRBadMMMMKay
10-15-2015, 08:38
umm..sheriff is an elected position in every county I've ever lived in. Avoided Denver county though, maybe they are speshul.

newracer
10-15-2015, 08:53
I think Denver may be the only county in CO where the sheriff is not elected.

def90
10-15-2015, 09:05
Perhaps that's why they are having problems with the department then?

HoneyBadger
10-15-2015, 09:21
I thought Denver and Boulder counties both had appointed Sheriffs... which is why they were the only two Sheriffs in Colorado not a part of the lawsuit.

OneGuy67
10-15-2015, 10:05
With the exception of Broomfield and Denver, all sheriffs in the remaining 62 counties are elected. Due to the nature of the city/county adoption that both Broomfield and Denver did, they have exceptions. Now, by statute, there are specific duties that a sheriff must carry out, which is why Denver has had a sheriff's department. The sheriff is appointed in Denver, but isn't a true sheriff in that sense. Broomfield decided to not have a sheriff's department, but develop a branch of their police department to handle the sheriff's duties. Their chief is in fact both the chief of police and the de facto sheriff.

As to why they didn't join in the lawsuite, Boulder Sheriff Pelle and whomever was the sheriff at the time in Denver, both were politically against it. Their political beliefs do not match those of other sheriffs.

Circuits
10-15-2015, 11:50
All the "regular counties" were formed under a uniform set of laws when formed in the Colorado Territory, and those laws provided for electing the sheriff. This is also traditional in the vast majority of counties across the US, but not universal. Since those original 17 territorial counties, each time a new county has been formed by splitting an existing county into one or more additional counties, the new county has adopted the same elected sheriff system, except Denver in 1902 and Broomfield in 2001. Denver was the first combined city/county, and chose to appoint its sheriff, and Broomfield followed the Denver city/county model rather than the "regular county" model.

Any other county in Colorado or the USA could change their method of selecting the sheriff by adopting new laws, if they wished, and unless their state's constitution said otherwise.

Singlestack
10-15-2015, 15:06
Pelle of Boulder was elected. I know him. Regarded as competent by cops I know, but definitely not pro-gun. One of the reasons I will be moving from Boulder CO to Weld CO in the next year.

Ah Pook
10-15-2015, 15:19
As to why they didn't join in the lawsuit, Boulder Sheriff Pelle and whomever was the sheriff at the time in Denver, both were politically against it. Their political beliefs do not match those of other sheriffs.
Pegged it.