One of the acting co-chiefs leading the Regional Transportation District’s police department will soon resign from the agency.
RTD CEO and General Manager Debra Johnson promoted Glynell Horn, Jr., a deputy chief, to an acting co-chief role last fall days after she fired the department’s previous chief for a series of infractions, including repeatedly driving an agency vehicle more than 100 mph. Former chief Joel Fitzgerald Sr. has since sued RTD, alleging racial discrimination.
Horn, however, had close ties to Fitzgerald, and he was promoted over the objections of many rank-and-file officers. Last year, CPR News also obtained footage of RTD officers responding to a domestic dispute that clearly shows Horn not wearing a body camera as required by state law.
His last day with RTD will be March 6, Johnson wrote in an internal email obtained by CPR News.
“I wish to extend my personal thanks and deepest appreciation for his work and dedication to RTD during his tenure with the agency,” Johnson wrote.
RTD confirmed Horn’s impending departure but has not yet provided any further comment.
The other acting co-chief, Steven Martingano, will serve as the sole leader of the department until RTD hires a replacement, Johnson’s email said. Applications for the chief position are due on Friday. RTD says the salary will be up to $250,000.
The next chief will oversee the continued expansion of RTD’s police force as the agency tries to make its vehicles and stations safer.
More than a dozen RTD drivers and other front-line workers, who are pushing for higher wages, addressed the agency’s board of directors on Tuesday, and many said their working conditions are unsafe.
Several riders echoed those concerns, which are backed up by RTD’s own data. One told the board she was recently sexually assaulted on the L Line by a passenger. Another, Paolo Solorzano with the RTD Rider’s Alliance and Greater Denver Transit, said he was assaulted on the W Line in May 2023, and that he rarely sees security or police officers on that line.
“This has been going on for a long time,” he told the board. “Please start having a presence on light rail.”
In addition to expanding its police force, RTD officials say they are also using technology to promote safety. Public safety dispatchers can now check live cameras on all buses and some trains in real time so officers can be dispatched more quickly.
