Boulder names Stephen Redfearn as new police chief

Boulder has a new police chief, City Manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde announced Friday.

The city named Stephen Redfearn, the interim chief since January, to lead the Boulder Police Department after a competitive national search.

He worked in Boulder for three years as deputy chief after more than two decades with the Aurora Police Department and took over after Boulder's former Police Chief Maris Herold resigned.

The city narrowed their search last month to three finalists: Redfearn, Navajo Police Department Deputy Chief Leonard Redhorse III, and Josh Wallace, a Chicago Police Department commander of the Criminal Network Group for the Bureau of Counterterrorism.

Redfearn’s promotion was effective immediately.

Boulder was looking for a candidate to lead the department as the city implements its progressive “Reimagine Policing Plan,” which Redfearn was part of creating, Rivera-Vandermyde said.

The plan is part of an effort from the Obama Foundation, calling police leaders to reform their use-of-force policies and address systemic racism in law enforcement, in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.

“I believe he is uniquely positioned as our next chief," Rivera-Vandermyde said. "Steve understands the importance of establishing deep relationships with the community we all serve, and I am confident he will both lean into the promise of Reimagine Policing and make it a reality.”

Redfearn has been on the scene of several of Colorado’s most infamous tragedies – from Columbine, the Aurora theater shooting, the death of Elijah McClain to the 2021 Marshall fire.

He received criticism over his handling of McClain’s death in 2019 after changing a classification code from a “suspicious person” incident to “assault on an officer," after Redfearn was told McClain tried to take an officer’s gun, which prosecutors and evidence later showed was false.

Members of NAACP Boulder County called on Redfearn to resign.

Rivera-Vandermyde commended Redfearn for reflecting on the case and said he “learned from it,” citing how he testified against the officers indicted in McClain’s death and implementing a new practice to make any changes in call types to be kept in the records for transparency and must be approved by a supervisor.

“I admire Steve’s courage and integrity in standing up for what is right. He has demonstrated that accountability matters,” the city manager said. “This includes remaining open and reflecting deeply in the midst of criticism, which at times as been vitriolic and personal, as well as taking concrete steps to address policing protocols that can lead to community distrust.”

Denver Gazette reporter Carol McKinley contributed to this report.