WEEK OF MARCH 21, 2024
VOLUME 129 | ISSUE 4
Former Elizabeth police chief left amid allegations
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BY NICKY QUINBY SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
When Elizabeth Police Chief Melvin Berghahn abruptly resigned from his job on Dec. 1, 2022, it was after Town Administrator Patrick Davidson placed him on paid leave and set out to terminate his employment over allegations of unseemly “roughhousing,” an “irretrievably broken” relationship with the Elbert County sheriff, morale issues and the presentation of a previous chief’s badge in a “shadow box” to celebrate his separation from town employment, documents released by the town on March 13 show. In a “Notice of Intent to Terminate your Employment and Seek Non-Reappointment by the Board of Trustees” addressed to Berghahn and dated Dec. 1, 2022, Elizabeth Town Administrator Patrick Davidson gave specific reasons for his decision to begin the process to terminate Berghahn’s employment. Berghahn resigned and was not fired. Davidson wrote that as a result of the abrupt and unexpected resignation of Sgt. Kurt Hulce, he conducted an exit interview in which Hulce was reluctant to speak frankly. By that time, Hulce was a 21-year veteran of the department. Hulce’s exit interview brought up a number of concerns for Davidson. “While I have not conducted any formal investigation following Sgt.
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Former Elizabeth Police Chief Melvin Berghahn resigned on Dec. 1, 2022 after being PHOTO PROVIDED BY TOWN OF ELIZABETH placed on paid leave.
Hulce’s exit interview, I have taken steps to confirm much of what I learned in the exit interview, including from sources both inside and outside of the department,” Davidson wrote. “In sum, I have learned that morale in the Elizabeth Police Department is, and has been, deteriorating quickly. The deterioration is caused by the rigid command structure that you have instilled within the department, knowing that younger officers and employees are not responsive to fear and intimidation in the work environment. In my capacity as the
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town administrator, I am unwilling to recommend to the Board of Trustees that the town take the risk of keeping you as chief of police when considering the morale of the department, and the other issues described below,” he continued. According to the four-page notice, the other issues include “roughhousing that involved on more than one occasion hitting Sgt. Hulce with objects in the groin area,” an “irretrievably broken” relationship with the county sheriff, and a “Shadow
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