Chief of Police Paul Pazen will be retiring from the Denver Police Department (DPD), effective Oct. 15. Pazen has served as Chief of Police of since June 2018 and was the second Latino Chief of Police in Denver’s history.
“Chief Pazen has had a distinguished career with the Denver Police Department, and over his nearly three decades in law enforcement, he has served the residents of our city at nearly every level of the department, including its highest rank, with integrity and a community-focused approach to policing,” Mayor Hancock said. “I want to thank Chief Pazen for his leadership of our community’s police department during these difficult past few years in the life of our city and our country.”
Denver PD Chief Paul Pazen
“It’s been an honor to serve the people of this city, and I couldn’t be prouder to have done it alongside these dedicated women and men of the department who’ve answered the call to protect the residents of Denver no matter the circumstance,” Chief Pazen said.
During his tenure as Chief of Police, Pazen has overseen the police department during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the nationwide increase in crime and an unprecedented loss of over 170 uniformed officers.
Pazen has worked to curb violent crime in “hot spot” areas of the city where it has been occurring the most often, stem the proliferation of illegal guns on Denver’s streets, and tackle the increasing prevalence of illegal drugs, particularly fentanyl, in our community.
Mayor Hancock has selected Ron Thomas, currently the department’s Division Chief of Patrol, as his nominee to be the next Chief. The nomination is subject to City Council confirmation. In Chief Pazen’s absence, Thomas will assume day-to-day management of the department as acting Chief beginning Sept. 6.