ASPEN – This town’s top cop has been relieved of his command amid accusations that he sexually harassed multiple female police officers.
Aspen Police Chief Loren Ryerson was placed on indefinite leave eight days ago while city officials and the Colorado Intergovernmental Risk-Sharing Agency investigate the allegations. City officials have confirmed the police chief is on leave, but have otherwise provided little information about the ongoing probe.
Claims that Ryerson sexually harassed female officers have quietly circulated for years. It is unclear what triggered the investigation now.
“There have been rumors he might have been doing some inappropriate things, but I’ve never heard of anyone filing an official complaint,” said Pitkin County Sheriff Bob Braudis, whose office is across the hall from the police chief’s.
Ryerson did not return repeated messages left for him seeking comment. He was named chief in 2001 and has been a police officer here since 1984.
“It’s a concern,” Mayor Mick Ireland said. “Obviously there is an issue there or management wouldn’t have acted.”
The embattled police chief, who is married and has four children, is still drawing his $104,000 salary while on leave, according to the city attorney.
City Manager Steve Barwick met with the Aspen City Council in a closed-door meeting Tuesday to discuss the matter.
This isn’t the first time Ryerson has found himself in a controversy. He was criticized for being heavy-handed when he authorized a raid on two downtown restaurants to arrest low-level drug dealers in 2005. Officers had their guns drawn while patrons were eating and imbibing.
The police chief also was unwilling to fire a police officer who turned a Taser on an elderly homeless woman who was never charged with a crime. The city manager eventually stepped in and fired the officer, against Ryerson’s recommendation.
Assistant Police Chief Richard Pryor has been placed in charge of the department during the investigation.
