Wheat Ridge Police Department

Our crucial partners at Victim Outreach Incorporated (VOI) joined us this week for and are looking for more volunteers this fall!

VOI volunteers provide emotional support during a crisis, share information and resources. They respond to situations in Wheat Ridge to help victims start the path to healing and recovery.

Volunteer advocates will be provided with in-depth and ongoing training in dynamics of victimization and will gain direct experience in providing support to people in need. If you are interested in serving the Wheat Ridge community, and other crime victims in Jefferson County, check out their website here: https://tinyurl.com/y5xuhm5j

National Night Out! 🚓

VOI joined Wheat Ridge Police Department and City of Golden, Colorado - Municipal Government to connect with neighbors across Jefferson County, sharing resources, answering questions, and handing out a few Officer Hugs bears along the way.

We also had great neighbors at our table in Jefferson Center for Mental Health! ☺️

Nights like this remind us that advocacy is about being a visible, familiar presence in the community before people ever need us.

Thank you to Wheat Ridge PD and Golden PD for having us out! 💙

Thank you, Wheat Ridge! 💙

What an incredible ! We’re grateful to everyone who came out to spend the evening with us, meet your neighbors, and help strengthen our community.

Every conversation and connection helps build a safer, stronger Wheat Ridge. Thank you for taking the time to connect with our officers, ask questions, share your perspectives, and remind us why community partnerships are at the heart of what we do.

We’re lucky to serve such an amazing community.

Today is WRPD Officer Allan Fischer’s final day with the department, as he has earned a long and happy retirement.

As we wish him farewell for 24 years of unwavering service and sacrifice to the Wheat Ridge community, we wanted to share a letter from his daughter, WRPD Officer Kylee Fischer:

When I was eight years old, I stood beside you as you graduated from the police academy. Five years ago, you stood beside me and pinned my badge at my academy graduation. There was a time when I wasn't sure we'd all be here for this day. Thankfully, we are.

For more than two decades, you've answered calls for people on some of the worst days of their lives. You've run toward danger when others run away. You've comforted strangers, protected your community, mentored young officers, and quietly carried the weight that comes with wearing this badge. Through it all, you've served others with honor, integrity, and compassion.

The Wheat Ridge community thanks you. The Wheat Ridge Police Department thanks you. And I thank you.

You taught me that this badge is more than metal. It's a promise. A promise to show up, to do the right thing even when no one is watching, and to treat every person with dignity and respect. Every time I put on my uniform, I carry a little piece of you with me.

Although we never had the opportunity to work the road together, it has been one of the greatest honors of my life to wear the same patch and serve the same community. Not everyone gets to say they worked at the same department with their hero, but I do.

As a fellow officer, I thank you for your unwavering service and salute you with the deepest respect.

As your daughter, I'm going to miss seeing you at work, I'm going to miss hearing your voice in Records, and I'm going to miss knowing you're just down the hall.

But retirement doesn't mean you're leaving us. Your impact lives on in the officers you've mentored, the lives you've changed, and the example you've set will continue to shape this department for years to come.

I'm so proud of the career you've built, the legacy you've created, and the father you've always been.

Your watch has ended, but your legacy lives on. Congratulations, Dad!

Don’t try to catch the red light at these intersections 🚦

The Wheat Ridge Police Department is installing these signs and red-light cameras at two key intersections in our community: W 32nd Ave. at Wadsworth Blvd. and W 44th Ave. at Kipling St. We expect the cameras to begin mailing warnings for 30 days sometime in mid to late September and will follow up when we have an exact date.

Automated enforcement will start for traffic going east and west in these locations first, before full enforcement at these intersections for traffic travelling north and south.

These citations will result in a $75 fine, with no points against your license. You can learn more about our automated traffic enforcement program on the Crash and Traffic Team page of our website here: https://tinyurl.com/mspksj7d

Stop running red lights in Wheat Ridge.

Slow down along the Clear Creek Trail 🚴

We have heard the community concern about bicyclist and e-bike speeds on the greenbelt and have increased our Patrol Team, Community Service Team and Bike Team enforcement for speeders. As a reminder, the speed limit is 15 mph here.

Our partners at Wheat Ridge Parks and Recreation have created more signage to remind folks about the speed limit along the trail as well. Please be respectful of the other people who are walking, running and pedaling here and slow down.

To Our Community,

The Wheat Ridge Police Department is aware of the public release of a video and the related investigation involving a former officer of our agency. The conduct depicted in that video is deeply concerning and falls well below the standards, expectations, and values that define the Wheat Ridge Police Department.

After supervisors and officers on scene reported concerns regarding the officer's actions on May of 2025, the department initiated an administrative investigation and placed the officer on suspension pending its outcome. Upon completion of a thorough review, the investigation determined that the officer had violated multiple critical department policies and core professional standards. As a result, the officer's employment with the Wheat Ridge Police Department was terminated in July of 2025.

Accountability and transparency are fundamental to earning and maintaining the public's trust. They are principles that guide our decisions and have long been central to our relationship-based policing philosophy. While some who are unfamiliar with our department may judge our organization based solely on this incident, it is important to recognize that our accountability systems functioned as intended. When an employee fails to meet the professional standards expected of every member of this department, appropriate action is taken. In this case, that action resulted in termination.

Questions have understandably been raised regarding the department's communication with the public and the release of information. We believe those questions deserve a clear explanation.

Colorado law requires law enforcement agencies to release internal affairs records, subject to required statutory exceptions. At the same time, other state laws require agencies to protect the legal rights and privacy interests of individuals involved in certain circumstances.

Our legal counsel carefully reviewed the applicable laws, researched relevant legal precedent, and consulted available resources to determine the most appropriate course of action. After careful deliberation, we adopted an approach that sought to honor both the letter and the spirit of the law by releasing appropriately redacted records that advanced transparency while protecting the legal rights of those involved.

We recognize that our community expects openness from its police department, and rightly so. We believe this approach reflects a thoughtful balance between our obligation to provide transparency and our equally important responsibility to respect the legal protections afforded to individuals under Colorado law.

No use of force is easy to witness, and the conduct in this incident did not reflect the professionalism expected of a Wheat Ridge police officer. The department addressed that failure decisively, demonstrating our commitment to holding our employees accountable without hesitation or external pressure.

This has been a difficult case, and we understand why members of our community continue to ask about transparency. Our commitment has never been to conceal misconduct or shield those who violate the public's trust. Rather, our commitment is to be transparent whenever the law allows, to act decisively when our standards are violated, and to carefully navigate situations where legal obligations require us to balance competing interests.

The termination of the officer reflects our commitment to accountability. Our efforts to comply with two conflicting legal requirements reflect our commitment to fairness, the rule of law, and the protection of individual rights. We believe both responsibilities are essential to preserving the public's confidence in the Wheat Ridge Police Department.

We remain committed to serving our community with professionalism, integrity, transparency, and accountability. Those values will continue to guide our actions and our decisions every day.

Sincerely,

Chief Chris Murtha

UPDATE: The shelter in place has been lifted. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

LOOKOUT ALERT: The Edgewater Police Department has issued a that extends into Wheat Ridge. We are asking for residents to shelter in place from W 26th Ave. to W 29th Ave. within Fenton St. to Sheridan Blvd. for two possibly armed and dangerous suspects.

If you are indoors, stay inside, lock doors and windows and avoid windows. If outdoors, go inside immediately and remain there. Do not open doors to strangers. Call 911 if you see suspicious activity.

WAY too fast for Youngfield. Slow. Down.

Our Crash and Traffic Team is out looking for speeders across our community and pulled over one driver for going 75 mph on Youngfield St. Going that fast not only dramatically reduces your reaction time on busy streets in our community, it increases the likelihood and severity of a crash.

Stop speeding in Wheat Ridge.

STREET CLOSURE ALERT: As the City of Wheat Ridge Government prepares for the annual , we want to remind residents W 38th Ave. will be shut down completely from Upham St. to Ames St. / Sheridan Blvd. on Saturday, August 8, for the Carnation Festival Parade.

The closure will start at 8:00 a.m. and last until 12:30 p.m. Please plan your trips through town accordingly and use W 32nd Ave. or W 44th Ave. when traveling east or west through Wheat Ridge during that time.

We can’t wait to celebrate our history and our future with you Wheat Ridge 🌾