Sheriff

Your department is the county’s largest one. How do you manage your budget?

I manage the budget for the largest department in the county by prioritizing our needs, managing expenditures and finding funding within the budget to meet the needs in the Sheriff’s Office. I find existing money within the budget to upgrade. An example would be tracking gaming activity to get reimbursement from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA).

How do you create a positive working environment?

To create a positive working environment, I have goals, a mission statement, a vision statement and values. All are related to respect, tolerance and involvement in the community, that each team member is held accountable to. Treat everyone fairly. Internally, take care of things so the staff can focus on what they’re doing on the outside. Get the staff the equipment they need and the pay and benefits they need. It is an open environment where anyone can talk to the sheriff, identify problems and come up with solutions. I encourage employees and do not micromanage them. I give them free rein to do special projects that they bring forward on their own. I value their input for the majority of decisions on a day-to-day basis. I use discipline at the lowest possible level, with the idea to correct behavior to make the team member better. I encourage all employees to be lifelong learners. I want to develop leaders in the organization to make us stronger as a team. Everyone has the ability to have a voice in the success of the organization. I create a culture where people feel comfortable to contribute to this success in the organization.

What is your vision for your department?

My vision for the department is trying to meet as many concerns as possible for the community and work with the community. My primary focus is to provide a safe and secure environment in the community, workplace and in our school. Deputies are encouraged to be engaged in the community and provide community policing at its best. They work together for community policing to provide a safe working and living environment for everyone in the community.

Fire restrictions are an important tool in protecting the county from a wildfire during dry times. What would you do to improve the process of declaring fire restrictions and then removing them when the danger is past?

To improve the process of declaring fire restrictions and then removing them, Armstrong said a number of criteria are used to make a determination to go in or out of a fire restriction. I use experts in the field of wildland fire. Science plays a large role in determining fire restrictions/ bans. We use formulas to determine 1,000 fuels and the energy levels for forest fire resources, weather forecasts (humidity levels, wind and red flag warnings). The availability of fire fighting resources is also a major consideration. We must have resources available to fight a new start in the county. These resources are dependent on other fires in the region. If there are a lot of fires in the region, there may be limited resources available. Also important, we work with Clear Creek and Boulder partners on establishing fire bans and restrictions.

How will you respond to a citizen complaint about a neighbor shooting on the neighbor’s private property but without a proper backstop?

In response to a citizen complaint about a neighbor shooting on the neighbor’s private property but without a proper backstop, Armstrong said we will send a deputy to the resident, evaluate the proper backstop and educate the landowner on firearm safety and proper backstops.

If there is no proper backstop, he tells them they can’t be shooting there. He can give them literature of what a proper backstop is and how to build it. He is working on a flier on proper backstops and firearm safety to hand out to people.

Are you willing to arrange for all your deputies to be trained to de-escalate a conflict when an individual’s behavior is out of control and the individual may be seriously mentally ill?

Regarding training for deputies on de-escalating a conflict, I am a Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) certified person. CIT is a week-long course that talks about mental health and teaches skills to deputies on de-escalation. Deputies have to demonstrate these skills in role-playing scenarios. These skills/ tools can be used in any facet of law enforcement. I have two deputies who are certified in CIT. My goal is to have over half the deputies certified for CIT. Currently between jail and patrol, I have 39 sworn/non sworn deputies and I am down five right now (two of the positions were frozen during budget cuts in 2020). A sergeant, an investigator and 6 deputies are funded through our contract with Central City.