The city of Walsenburg plans to hire former Morrison Police Chief Bill Vinelli as its police chief even as he is under investigation by his former police department.
The city in Southern Colorado chose the embattled law enforcement veteran on Jan. 2 from three finalists.
The Walsenburg City Council discussed Vinelli’s contract during its regular meeting Tuesday night but postponed its approval until the next meeting. Vinelli answered questions from the council about the ongoing investigation at the meeting. He assured them that the investigation would not impact his job.
“It won't hamper basically my due diligence to be your police chief, nor will it impact anything that I will do here impact anything that I did there,” Vinelli said. “I run a very tight police department, and I'm very transparent when it comes to pretty much everything.”
Vinelli was placed on administrative leave in November. At the time of the announcement, Town Manager Mallory Nassau did not elaborate about the decision. Vinelli said he was placed on leave for alleged policy violations. He said one violation dealt with overtime and compensation related to working concerts at Red Rocks.
“I signed up every other officer to be able to give my officers time off. It wasn't paid by the town. It wasn't overtime in any way, shape or form. It was paid by the city of Denver because it's a Denver park and my predecessors going back years did the same thing that I did,” Vinelli said. “So, I had been doing that for three years or two years and 10 months for my employment there and was never talked to about me not being able to do it as a salaried employee.”
The other violations involved grant and retention and recruitment policies. Walsenburg Mayor Gary Vezzani believed there was nothing to the investigation.
“I am in the frame of mind that a man should be innocent until proven guilty, and I don't believe there's anything really wrong with it,” Vezzani said.
Vinelli, who has 35 years of law enforcement experience, was hired as Morrison police chief in February 2022. His stint as police chief gained attention in recent years.
The town installed speed cameras on the eastern edge of the town. The cameras cut down on speedy drivers and was a source of revenue for the town.
A month before Vinelli was placed on administrative leave, Morrison PD Sgt. Richard Norton was arrested by Longmont Police on charges of domestic violence, child abuse and unlawful storage of a firearm.
The former K-9 officer, who was hired in August of that year, was placed on unpaid administrative leave. The Canyon Courier reported that an eight-page affidavit listed years of alleged stalking, murder threats and abuse involving Norton’s first ex-wife, children, and girlfriend. He was also named in a federal lawsuit involving the 2017 arrest of a disabled 15-year-old girl and misconduct during his time with the Broomfield Police Department. Norton resigned from Broomfield in 2022 while also under investigation.
When asked about his decision to hire Norton, Vinelli stood by his decision.
“I only knew what my integrity interview with him was, and I only knew what the redacted internal affairs report that my investigator received from Broomfield,” Vinelli said. “I made it publicly clear that I can't predict what somebody's going to do two years later, and I stand by that decision I made initially with the help of my city manager at the time of hiring.”
The Morrison Town board of Trustees voted last month to disband the nine-person local police department citing financial unsustainability and contract with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement services full-time.
Prior to the hire of Vinelli, Walsenburg relied on the Huerfano County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement services. Vinelli told the City Council that he plans to hire four police officers to fill his staff. He currently lives in Cañon City and plans to move full-time to Walsenburg later.
Vinelli is currently working off a base agreement with the city. His contract calls for a base salary of $105,000. The City Council plans to approve the contract at its next regular meeting. The date of the meeting has not been posted on the city’s website.
