DENVER — A former undersheriff with the Adams County Sheriff's Office pleaded guilty Friday to one court of second-degree forgery and first-degree official misconduct in connection with a training records fraud scheme.
Thomas McLallen was sentenced to 24 months supervised probation in Denver District Court for his role in a scheme to falsify records and claim credit for state-mandated law enforcement training that he did not complete, according to the Colorado Attorney General's Office. McLallen was also ordered to write a letter of apology to the sheriff's office and relinquish his state peace officer certification. He is no longer eligible to serve as a peace officer in the state.
As part of his plea agreement, he will cooperate with prosecutors and may be called to testify in his co-defendant's cases.
Former Adams County Sheriff Richard Reigenborn and former Division Chief Michael Bethel also face charges in this scheme. They have been charged with forgery, attempt to influence a public servant, conspiracy to commit forgery, and conspiracy to attempt to influence a public servant. Both cases are pending in Denver District Court.
McLallen signed training rosters for classes that he did not attend and submitted training certifications to POST — Colorado Peace Officer Standards and Training — to count those hours toward his mandatory training in 2021, according to the Colorado Attorney General's Office. Without those fraudulent hours, he did not have the total needed to meet the requirements for 2021.
In Colorado, peace officers must complete a minimum of 24 hours of annual in-service training, the attorney general's office said. All training submissions must be truthful.
"We are committed to law enforcement integrity and taking serious steps to undermine our state’s training system,” said Attorney General Phil Weiser. “This action advances that work and makes clear the obligations of law enforcement officers to engage in training in an appropriate manner.”
