Erich Gerthe grew up in the mountains, not far from Glen Haven. “I really enjoyed it, having space, not having the city busyness. I don’t care for concrete and asphalt.”

Which made it a little difficult to hang out with people his own age, at least until he was old enough to drive. He was in 4-H, mastering archery, a sport he still enjoys. He took part in the Horseless Horse Program, learning about horses from books. He knew horses, though, and he was comfortable with them.

Gerthe also enjoyed model rockets: “I was definitely into rocketry, and I was inspired by the old Saturn Vs. I built my own rockets, including one for a school project that showed all the components of the Saturn V.” It probably helped that his dad is an engineer.

When old enough for college, Gerthe attended Front Range Community College. Between semesters he worked in excavating, operating backhoes, skid steers, excavators, and, of course, a shovel. He completed Front Range with a business degree. “It was a good general degree while I figured out what direction I would take.”

He moved on to CSU, and by then his direction was clear: “All the shootings were happening, Virginia Tech for example. While I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I started college, I did want to be in a position to help people. That’s what the police do, they take action and they help people.” He graduated with a degree in sociology, with a concentration in criminology and criminal justice.

Policing brought Gerthe to Ned. Although he grew up just down the road, he had never been here. His first visit was in 2017. “I was in the Police Academy and I came to Nederland for a ride-along with Chief Johns. I wanted to be back in the mountains.” Not long after, Officer Gerthe became one-fourth of Ned PD.

It’s a small police department, just four people to handle everything from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. (the Boulder County Sheriff covers the overnight shift.) If one person is out sick, or on vacation, the other three pick up the slack. “In our department, you do it all as an officer. You do your own investigative work like a detective would, and your own crime scene collection.”

Ned PD operates out of the shopping center. There are no computers in its vehicles, which means the officers don’t have access to information in their cars. They have to drive back to the station to write their reports. “We’re on a smaller scale.”

Some of the situations it confronts are anything but smaller scale. “We used to have a whole lot of transient issues. We still have those, but now we have more complex mental health issues and more complex cases. It’s no longer just a transient breaking into a car and stealing change from the ashtray. Now we’ve got, for example, pedophilia, internet child pornography, and two hash oil house explosions.” One of those explosions turned into a week-long mission, because the Regional Bomb Squad had to process what was the largest quantity of explosives it has encountered to date.

Let’s not forget that someone tried to blow them all up a few years ago, along with their station. This was apparently over some grievance that arose almost 50 years ago. That’s not smaller scale stuff.

Ned PD gets plenty of routine calls, like unattended fires. “This year I dealt with a guy in Boulder Canyon who had built a fire without clearing away the long grass around it. He thought it was okay because it was next to the creek. The wind was blowing, it wasn’t safe.”

Officer Gerthe gets his share of moose calls. “This year we got a call that someone had walked right up to a moose in Chipeta Park. When I arrived there were some teenagers, I don’t think they were locals, petting the moose. Last year I dealt with a local who was trampled by a moose in Chipeta. It just attacked him. You never know, they may stomp you, they may wander away. It’s a safety issue.”

Gerthe currently lives in the flats with his wife Lauren, their two young girls, and Zeke the dog. “I would like to come back to the mountains, get a nice piece of property with privacy and solitude. I would love my kids to have the same experience I did, growing up in the mountains. It’s hard to afford anything, unfortunately.”

A few Nedbits about Gerthe:

Favorite people: “Some of the oldtimers, they’ve been up here a while and they know the history of Ned. And Nicki Dunn in Public Works.”

Favorite place: “That big pull-off on Peak to Peak just north of here, where all the leaf-peepers stop. That’s a beautiful spot!”

Favorite music: “I like country mostly, Alan Jackson, Johnny Cash.”

How can we help: “Call dispatch, 303-441-4444, instead of the department directly. There are only four of us, we may not be here and we may not get the message. Or call 911 if it’s an emergency.”

Hopes and dreams for Ned PD: “I want to see Ned PD grow and flourish, to expand with more officers, increase training, and get back to 24 hour coverage. With enough officers we can really increase the quality of policing for the town.”

Officer Gerthe understands that not everybody likes the police. “We’re like the parents of society, we bring the consequences, not everybody gets along with their parents.” He is well aware that his is a dangerous job. But it’s more than a job to him.

“I’ve heard people say to be a cop is a calling, I have to agree with that. It’s not for everybody, but it is for me.”

[BELLA LORENA: I carry your heart with me, I carry it in my heart]