Gilcrest – Folks here describe themselves as friendly, resourceful and tough – qualities that will come in handy now that the Police Department’s only cop left town for good.
Officer James Neily resigned this month, saying the stress and uncertainty of being the only full-time law officer in this rural community of 1,200 people proved too much.
The Weld County Sheriff’s Office is providing patrols Fridays through Sundays, and the town gets help from nearby police agencies when emergencies arise, officials say.
But such backup doesn’t reassure some residents who fear criminals may see Gilcrest as easy pickings.
“We’re absolutely terrified as to what’s going to happen here,” said Zach Kauffman, who owns an industrial painting business and is a critic of the town’s government.
At one time, there were at least three police officers on the local force.
In the past two years, however, four police chiefs and at least a dozen officers have come and gone.
The latest chief to go was Scott Smith, who, along with his second- in-command, resigned his post late last year over pay and management disputes with the town board.
That left Neily – a rookie officer – as the only one to patrol Gilcrest’s dusty streets for the past six months.
“A cop with only one year experience and being the only cop in town … is not a good thing for me or the town,” Neily said.
Mike Cheney has volunteered to watch the back of his friend Doug Stone, who is co-owner of the town’s liquor store.
“Everybody here knows everybody else, and we notice when something is a little odd and out of place,” said Cheney, who has lived since 2000 in Gilcrest, 14 miles south of Greeley. “I don’t think we feel too uncomfortable because most of us can take care of ourselves.”
Neily wants another law enforcement job but has also enrolled at the University of Northern Colorado for a teaching degree.
Neily, who gave two weeks’ notice, wanted to stay on duty until May 25, but the town asked him to leave May 15.
Mayor Menda Warne said it seemed the town board wanted to start rebuilding the department as soon as possible, so they let Neily go before his final two weeks were up.
Meanwhile, the town is accepting applications from any qualified candidate for police chief.
“If we got one good candidate, you bet we would look at that person to hire,” she said.
“If we have a lot of growth, we’re going to need our own police department,” Warne said. “But we want to do it right.”
Staff writer Monte Whaley can be reached at 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com.
