In Colorado, hundreds of volunteers wear badges and carry guns as they work as sworn officers for sheriff’s offices and police departments.
Those unpaid volunteers patrol the road, guard jails and serve court documents alongside full-time, paid police officers across the state.
Before hitting the streets, they must complete a basic reserve police academy, receive annual training and work under the supervision of fully-certified law enforcement officers. But the duties they carry out and the level of supervision are at the discretion of the police chiefs and sheriffs who run the departments.
“It used to be back in the older days a sheriff could deputize any ol’ person he wanted to,” said Chris Johnson, executive director of County Sheriffs of Colorado. “The days of just saying, ‘Saddle up, we’re going after bad guys’ are long gone.”
Reserve officer programs around the country are being scrutinized after a reserve sheriff’s deputy in Tulsa County, Okla., accidentally shot and killed a suspect in an undercover sting. The reserve deputy was a big donor to the department.
Those who have worked with reserve officer training in Colorado say safeguards are in place to prevent cronyism and political favors. Still, if one sheriff or police chief is breaking the rules, it would be hard to detect, said Pete Dunbar, a former director of the Colorado Peace Officer Standards and Training program.
“At some point, you have to be on the honor system,” Dunbar said. “We haven’t had any problems with this that I’m aware of.”
The Tulsa County reserve deputy, who was white, mistakenly pulled his revolver rather than a Taser while other deputies were struggling to control the suspect, who was black. The incident has further fueled the national outcry over the number of unarmed black men killed by white police officers.
The reserve deputy, Richard Bates, joined the department in 2008. But he also was a friend of Sheriff Stanley Glanz and had donated to the sheriff’s political campaigns as well as purchased vehicles and other equipment for the department, according to newspaper.
And the newspaper also reported Bates’ training so he could go on undercover, high-profile operations.
Sheriffs and police chiefs see reserves as a way to augment their forces. With tight budgets and few resources, volunteers who work for free allow other deputies to have day off and save on overtime expenses, Johnson said.
“It’s getting tougher and tougher to get people to volunteer to do these things,” he said.
In Colorado, the state’s reserve officers complete at least 253 hours from a training academy with state-certified instructors, according to the the Colorado Peace Officer Standards and Training manual.
Traditional, full-time paid police officers and deputies must receive 548 hours of training at a state-certified police academy.
The state has 528 people who have active reserve certification, said Carolyn Tyler, communications director the state attorney general, who oversees police certification.
There are reserves who have traditional police certification but who work as volunteers.
Reserves are motivated for different reasons.
Some are former officers who changed careers but want to stay connected to police work. Others are hoping to get their feet in the doors at police agencies while some are motivated by a sense of service.
Boulder County Reserve Deputy Stephen Meer said anyone who volunteers must be committed.
“There may be people who get into it because they thought it would be cool to be a cop,” Meer said. “In our agency, you’re involved because it’s a significant part of your life or it’s not going to work out for you.”
In January, a new state law went into effect that required all officers, including reservists, to complete a minimum of 24 hours of training on firearms, arrest tactics, driving and other skills.
Before the law went into effect, Colorado was one of six states that did not require any additional training for police and deputies once they graduated from basic police academies.
The state purchased a new computer system to track the new training requirements, Dunbar said.
Once a reserve officer completes training, it is up to each sheriff or police chief to decide what level of authority and duties the reservist has. If the reservist will carry a gun, state law requires that officer to receive certified firearms training.
Many agencies with reserve programs require volunteers to work a set number of hours per month and to go through the same annual training requirements as full-time officers.
The Denver Police Department, which has five reserve officers, requires its reserves to work two full shifts per month where they ride with a full-time officer, said Christine Downs, a department spokeswoman.
In Boulder, Douglas and El Paso counties, reserve officers go through the same hiring process as full-time deputies. That means they fill out applications, take tests, undergo criminal background checks and go through psychological screenings.
Spokesmen for those departments said the rigorous testing and training weed out people who just want the prestige of a badge or who want to cash in political favors.
“Could they have been campaign supporters? Sure,” said Cmdr. Heidi Prentup, a Boulder County sheriff’s spokeswoman. “But it’s not an easy program. It’s not an easy job, especially doing it for free.”
The size of reserve programs varies by departments. Douglas County has six while El Paso County has almost 30.
Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle has eight reserve deputies — six work on the operations side and two work in the jail, Prentup said.
The reserve roster includes computer programmers, an attorney and state employees.
Meer worked as Boulder County deputy for 10 years, and a former sheriff gave him the opportunity to upgrade the department’s technology at a time when many agencies were not looking into how computers could help them.
Meer, 57, left the department to start a company that specialized in police communications. He was successful, and he said serving as a reservist is a way to give back.
He puts in 60 to 80 hours of work each month. He helps serve court papers and commands a SWAT team.
“Let’s be clear,” he said. “I’m not one of the guys who’s kicking a door and running in.”
Instead, he manages the scene and puts his communications expertise to work.
“I can bring a lot to the team,” he said.
Jeff Black, 45, another Boulder County reserve deputy, said he is a former police officer who found another career but wanted to stay active in law enforcement.
“It’s a sad moment when your police certification expires,” Black said.
So, he got re-certified and signed up with Boulder County because the department takes its reserve program seriously.
“They don’t just say, ‘Hey, you’re golfing buddies with the sheriff. Here’s your badge,'” Black said.
Noelle Phillips: 303-954-1661, nphillips@denverpost.com or twitter.com/Noelle_Phillips
