Denver Police Chief Announces Retirement

DENVER, CO -- Denver Police Chief Robert White announced Tuesday he will step down at an unspecified date after six years leading the Denver Police Department.

White said in a Facebook post that he would stick around long enough to help Mayor Michael Hancock with the transition of a new chief.

White provided a list of his achievements since 2011. He said he was proud of developing a better dialog between the community and the department, modernizing the department and restructuring to cut costs. He also said he was proud of ushering in body cams, updating the department’s use-of-force policy and modernizing recruiting and training programs.

"I am confident that this Department will continue to thrive because the agency is loaded talented officers, civilian employees and leaders dedicated to serving and protecting this great city," White wrote.

White has been under fire from police union leadership for more than a year over an investigation into whether Denver Police top brass deliberately covered-up a letter by then District Attorney Mitch Morrissey critical of the department. About half the union's members participated in a "no confidence vote" in October aimed at the chief.

In January and February, White announced that a data audit revealed that in 2016 and 2017, a total of 1,189 cases, which is less than 1 percent of all crimes, were improperly downgraded from crime reports to "letters to detective."

White applied, and was a finalist, for the job of police chief in Washington DC, in February, but didn't get an offer.

Read Chief Robert White's letter here:

Image via Denver Police Department