The Federal Heights police and fire chiefs were fired this week after months of contention between the Denver suburb’s law enforcement agencies and city leaders.
Federal Heights officials declined to comment on the firings of Police Chief Robert Grado and Fire Chief Marc Mahoney, which were announced in an email sent to all city employees at 6:40 p.m. Friday.
According to a copy of the email obtained by The Denver Post, city officials said Grado and Mahoney resigned and were “no longer with the city” and reminded workers not to let former employees into buildings without permission from the city manager.
Deputy Chief Karl Ballard was appointed interim police chief and finance director Tim Weitzman will be “overseeing” the fire department, city leaders said Friday.
In a news release late Friday, Federal Heights Professional Firefighters and Federal Heights Police Lodge officials said neither chief had submitted a resignation, nor were they notified that they had been fired.
“The manner in which this was conducted is incredibly disrespectful to both chiefs, police officers and firefighters,” union officials said.
“We will be submitting a request to state officials for a full investigation into these terminations.”
City Manager Jacqueline Halburnt declined to comment on the firings, stating it was a personnel matter. She did not immediately respond to an email requesting a copy of the resignation letters or termination notifications for Grado and Mahoney.
Mayor Linda Montoya also declined to comment, stating in a text message that she was just made aware of the news Friday evening. Montoya confirmed Grado and Mahoney are no longer employed by the city.
The police chief’s and fire chief’s ousters come in the wake of the police and fire unions presenting a unanimous no-confidence vote in Halburnt to the City Council in late January.
Tensions started rising after police department leaders sought funding to hire more officers to meet the national standard for officers per capita, firefighter union spokesperson Frank Rutkowski said.
“Thatap when we did the no confidence vote, because we thought they were being unfairly targeted for seeking a normal staffing level,” Rutkowski said. “It feels like retaliation.”
The Federal Heights Police Department previously came under scrutiny in 2023, when 17th Judicial District Attorney Brian Mason found the agency had failed to investigate serious felony cases for several years.
Things at the police department “dramatically improved” after those problems came to light, Rutkowski said, but the relationship between city leadership and the police and fire chiefs later deteriorated.
City Council members called a special meeting a week after the fire and police union’s no-confidence vote and held an executive session about a personnel matter involving Halburnt, city records show.
After the Jan. 27 closed meeting, Montoya read a statement that “after a lengthy discussion, the City Council will be taking measures to address all of your concerns.”
The is set to meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 2380 W. 90th Ave. The meeting will be streamed on Zoom.
