When Denver’s new sheriff, Patrick Firman, is sworn in Friday morning, he will take over a department troubled by excessive-force cases, disputes between deputies and the city’s administration, and hundreds of other mismanagement issues.
Firman has spent his career working in largely white county jail systems outside Chicago with fewer inmates and employees and smaller budgets than what he will manage in Denver. Now he will be in charge of two jails in an urban area with large minority populations, and he will be asked to guide them through massive reform.
Although the city has been searching for a new sheriff since July 2014, Firman’s introduction Thursday surprised many involved in the ongoing reform efforts and left them with questions over whether Firman is the right hire.
Lisa Calderon, co-president of the Colorado Latino Forum’s Denver chapter, said her group objected to the “complete secrecy” surrounding Firman’s appointment.
“All we know is what’s on his LinkedIn page,” Calderon said. “He’s got more than 20 years of experience in law enforcement, but is he a good match for Denver?”
Firman, 50, said he has the foundation needed to guide Denver’s department through reform.
“There’s always going to be a difference between facilities,” Firman said. “I think the key, though, is there is a core aspect of running a correctional facility.
“I know there’s going to be a learning curve for me because it’s obviously different than what I’ve done before. But I think I’ve got the base and the background.”
Mayor Michael Hancock on Thursday announced Firman’s hiring during a news conference in his office. Firman will be paid $170,539 per year to manage a department with nearly 900 employees and a proposed 2016 budget of $131 million.
Firman’s references reported that he would be a change agent with integrity and someone who would be hard-working and inspire employees, Hancock said.
“This is the guy when we all got the report and read over it — and it was voluminous — I’m telling you, we all thought this is the guy,” Hancock said. “I’m proud not just that we selected him but for him to select Denver with all that we’ve been challenged with.”
The Rev. William Golson, a member of the recruitment committee, said Firman was at the top of the list.
Golson said the recruitment committee interviewed Firman in September. The committee asked questions based on issues at the Denver Sheriff Department, and Firman gave solid answers.
“A lot of the time people blow smoke, telling you what they think you want to hear,” Golson said. “His were down to earth and based on experience. He seems to have lived the life.”
Golson said he didn’t know the hire was official until he received an invitation to the swearing-in ceremony at 10 a.m. in the Wellington Webb Municipal Office Building on Colfax Avenue.
Firman will replace Elias Diggins, who has served as interim sheriff since July 2014. Diggins, a department veteran, has run into trouble in the past month.
An internal affairs investigation was opened in September after Diggins was accused of releasing a man from custody after he had been held on a warrant.
And last week, a between Diggins and former chief Frank Gale surfaced where Diggins said city officials fired Gale so “they have a trophy they can hang on their wall.”
Diggins Monday for comments made in the telephone call.
Hancock insisted Thursday that nothing in the past week had accelerated the process.
“As of a week ago, we knew we had the person we wanted,” Hancock said.
But Denise Maes, public policy director of the ACLU of Colorado who has been heavily involved in the sheriff’s department reform, said she was surprised by the timing. She did not know of Firman’s hiring until Thursday afternoon.
“I hope they did their due diligence,” Maes said. “I hope they vetted him well enough.”
Firman has not worked in a sheriff’s department for the past year but has been in private business .
Most recently, he served as deputy chief of corrections of the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office in Illinois, but he left when a newly elected sheriff chose not to retain him.
Firman started his law enforcement career in 1990 at the Lake County Sheriff’s Office in Illinois, where he worked his way up from a correctional officer to chief of corrections. He left that department in 2009.
Denver’s jail system is larger than either facility where Firman has worked. Denver’s average daily population at its two jails is 2,000. The Lake County Jail’s inmate population is 1,000, and McHenry County’s capacity is 650.
Denver also has a larger budget and more employees than either department. In Denver, Firman also must oversee courthouse security and a vehicle impound lot.
Firman was chosen after a national search that was led by the Chicago-based consulting firm Hillard Heintze. Twenty-five people applied, and six were picked as finalists, Hancock said. Of those, Firman rose to the top of everyone on the selection committee’s list.
“Leadership. That’s number one,” Hancock said. “He has the courage and the willingness to say, ‘I will do it.’ He knows this is a challenging situation.”
The new sheriff said he was well-aware of the issues facing the department. He said he had read a 300-page report written by Hillard Heintze and OIR Group of Los Angeles, firms hired to help with reforms. They offered 277 recommendations for change.
“I see it as a challenge, really,” Firman said of the reform process. “I see my role as coming in and continuing the process.”
Stephanie O’Malley, executive director of the safety department, already has started implementing reforms, including changing deputies’ shift schedules and ordering mandatory overtime.
One of Firman’s challenges will be winning the trust and confidence of the department’s rank-and-file, many of whom have been embarrassed over the trouble but have been leery of the reform.
Already, Mike Jackson, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Denver Sheriff Lodge #27, has expressed skepticism over the hire, especially with how it was a surprise announcement.
“For us, we’re really disappointed there was no transparency in how this happened,” Jackson said. “It’s hard to have buy-in when you’re not a part of it.”
Jackson predicted a “cold reception” for Firman. There will be a feeling among the rank-and-file that Firman is coming to make a name for himself, Jackson said. It will appear he is a pawn of the mayor and O’Malley, who has a prickly relationship with the union.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for him, but he’s really here to do what they tell him to do,” Jackson said.
Still, Firman said he was excited to be Denver’s next sheriff and would bring his passion for corrections to the job. The challenges in Denver are similar to those in other jails across the country, he said.
“I’m confident that with the spirit of cooperation of the sheriff’s department, the city’s leaders and this community we can make the Denver Sheriff Department something we can all be proud of,” he said.
