Transparency and Accountability

To earn the public's trust, we focus on transparency and accountability. The following sections feature information about who we are, links to our policies, ways in which we engage with the community and our best practices and programs.

Professional Standards

The Vail Police Department investigates all complaints. Complaints are generated through our internal audits or by citizens. At the conclusion of any professional standards investigation, the disposition will be one of the following findings:

Sustained when misconduct occurred.
No sustained when an allegation is unsubstantiated.
Unfounded when the allegation is false or did not involve the employee named.
Exonerated when the employee acted lawfully and properly.
Within policy.

Related Vail Police Policies

Policy 320 Standards of Conduct

Policy 338 Public Safety Video Surveillance

Policy 805 Protected Information

Policy 1010 Personnel Complaints

Officer Training

Training Policy

Our department's policy is to provide each and every employee an opportunity for growth and development and ensure they are the most qualified and well-trained of any resort police department in the nation. Levels of training are significant and training plans are reviewed with each employee to ensure their skills and decision-making abilities are where they should be.

The Vail Police Department puts special emphasis on training, not just for officers but for all personnel involved in the operations of the department. Twice a year, in the spring and the fall, all police and code enforcement officers attend four days of comprehensive training classes ranging in subjects from accident investigation and defensive tactics to mental health first aid and swift water safety.

VPD's Training Focus:

In-Custody Death Prevention
Implicit Bias and Policing
Proper Restraints and Holds
Fair and Impartial Policing
Community Policing
De-escalation
Crisis Intervention
Less Lethal Force Option
Minimizing Use of Force & Proper Holds and Restraints
Ethical and Effective Policing
Anti-Bias Training

Body-Worn and In-Car Cameras

Use of Force

Vail Police Department has procedures for required data collection on officer-initiated contacts and continuously revises and amends as case law and statutes evolve.

Colorado state law and Vail policy:

Bans chokeholds
Bans the use of deadly force in non-violent offenses
Mandates collection of data on officer-initiated contacts and reports to state and federal agencies
Mandats reporting officer names to a nationwide database who are decertified, terminated or who have resigned while under investigation
Directives for use of body-worn cameras and release of footage
Establish a legal basis for contacting someone required

Related Vail Police Policies

Policy 300 Use of Force

Policy 301 Use of Force Review Board

Policy 302 Handcuffing and Restraints

Policy 303 Control Devices and Techniques

Policy 305 Officer-Involved Shootings

Policy and Oversight

Governance and Accountability

The Vail Town Charter establishes the Town Manager as the Chief Executive and Administrative Officer of the town. The Town Manager is appointed by the Town Council and serves at the pleasure of the Council and oversees the proper administration of all affairs of the town placed in their charge.

The department utilizes Lexipol's policy and training management software: the Knowledge Management System (KMS). In order to ensure that the generalized policies are appropriately modified for Vail, a policy review committee discusses potential impacts of the updates and makes recommendations for approval and implementation. Officers review policy scenarios daily at shift briefings to ensure understanding.

Police Chief

The Vail Police Chief reports to the Town Manager and leads Administrative, Operations and Communications Divisions. They coordinate community relations, strategic planning, fiscal management, technological developments, organizational efficiencies and problem-solving approaches.

Deputy Chief

The Vail Police Deputy Chief follows and supports the Vail Police Chief in their duties and responsibilities. They oversee the Operations and Investigations Commanders, ensuring communication between all divisions of the department.

Operations Commander

The Operations Commander leads a field branch of patrol, investigations and code enforcement officers. They perform a variety of duties including calls for service, education and enforcement of criminal codes, investigations, crime scene collection, arrests, traffic accident investigation, traffic enforcement, road safety, proactive and preventative patrol, public order measures, and general community and interagency activities.

Investigations Commander

The Investigations Commander leads the Investigations Team, Administrative Division and Volunteer Team and is responsible for the following functions:

Professional Standards
Accreditation
Budgeting
Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention
Mental Health Issues
Demand Reduction
Grants
Planning and Research
Auditing
Training
Hiring
Recruiting
Reserve Program
Building Maintenance and Administration
Citizen's Police Academy
Community Emergency Response Team

VPSCC

The Vail Public Safety Communications Center is part of the Vail Police Department and is funded through a consortium of the Eagle County 911 Authority and 12 user agencies. The 911 Authority contributes the largest share of funds. Remaining funds are allocated to user agencies based upon the percentage of the total number of calls for services averaged over the past three years.

Community Outreach

Co-Response

Integral to a co-responder mode is the relationship between members of law enforcement, paramedics and behavioral health professionals who all share a common goal: to keep individuals in a mental health crisis from being incarcerated or from being admitted to an emergency room. In Vail and Eagle County a coordinated response to the mental health crisis is helping to provide the best outcome for individuals.

Drug Task Force

The Gore Range Narcotics Interdiction Team (GRANITE), comprised of Vail Police Officers and Eagle County Sheriff Deputies, is a vital component of the battle against drugs in the region. GRANITE continues to disrupt established criminal networks and target individuals involved in the illicit drug market. As a testament to GRANITE's on-going task force successes, the Drug Enforcement Administration is assigned a full-time DEA agent to GRANITE.

Although the unit's primary focus is drug investigation, they also help support patrol services as needed by backfilling shifts and by working high crime pattern activity such as theft assessments and plain clothes operations to monitor dangers associated with domestic terrorism.

Explorer Program

Sworn staff from Vail Police Department, Avon Police Department, Eagle Police Department and the Eagle County Sheriff's Office provide an overview of the law enforcement profession to young adults between the ages of 14 and 21. The program is aimed at prompting critical thinking skills and building character.

Collaborative Interstate Initiatives

Average traffic volumes on Interstate 70 through Vail reach 36,000 vehicles daily. The goals and strategies to maintain safe roadways, even under difficult circumstances like heavy traffic volumes, adverse weather conditions and avalanches, have been laid out in the Colorado Department of Transportation's and Colorado State Patrol's Traffic Incident Management Plan for Eagle County.

The Vail Police work with the Colorado State Patrol and the Colorado Department of Transportation to target road safety, improve the safety of chain-up areas and traffic incident management on Interstate 70.

Safe Bar Campaign

Vail Officers meet with restaurateurs and with owners and employees of the bar district to reinforce the message of responsible service of liquor and the consequences of failing to manage high occupancy and disorder.