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.