DENVER — The leader of the Regional Transportation District (RTD) refused to say when the agency will hire a new police chief.
Last week, RTD confirmed that its former police chief, Joel Fitzgerald, was no longer an employee. But why he is no longer employed remains a mystery. He had been on leave since July.
The general manager and CEO of RTD, Debra Johnson, walked away and refused to provide an answer after Denver7 asked her when a replacement would be selected.
ME: When will RTD have a new police chief?
— Brandon Richard (@BrandonLRichard) September 25, 2024
RTD’s General Manager/CEO: @DenverChannel pic.twitter.com/vfjAERnsyy
RTD's leaders appeared before Colorado lawmakers on Wednesday to talk about challenges plaguing the state's largest transportation agency.
It comes as lawmakers consider potential legislation aimed at reforming RTD next year.
Like other RTD rail riders, Harold Lahey and Andrew Worl are tired of all the uncertainty.
“I don't know why it's so slow,” said Worl. “And it just it takes so long to get to places.”
“It says it's coming at 7:30, but you go and check the board or whatever, like the directory, that time says a different time,” Lahey said.
RTD implemented speed restrictions along several lines over the summer, requiring trains to reduce speeds to 10 miles per hour in “slow zones.”
It’s led to delays and growing frustration among passengers.
“The time it’s getting pushed back on the board, but all the whole time that the train is canceled,” Worl said about a recent experience he had.
Johnson said speed restrictions that have been in place allow preventative maintenance and repairs to be made to the tracks, which she said would be a benefit in the long run.
“I would say be patient because the sun will come up in the morning,” said Johnson. “What RTD is doing, basically, is investing into the infrastructure with what the taxpayers have provided us so we can sustain a viable transportation network for future generations.”
Denver7 Traffic
I took RTD’s light rail live on TV to experience the delays. Here's what I saw
Denver7 caught up with Johnson at the state capitol after she spoke before a panel of lawmakers on the transportation legislation review committee.
RTD leaders were originally scheduled to meet with the committee in July, but canceled due to a “scheduling conflict.”
Lawmakers on that committee are considering potential legislation to reform RTD.
A bill to reform RTD failed during the last legislative session.
Lawmakers say RTD has lots of problems that need to be addressed, like ridership that still hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels.
“The traffic has come back, [but] ridership has not come back, which I think is fairly telling,” said State Sen. Faith Winter, D-Westminster.
“We have people who are desperately trying to use these services and can’t,” said State Rep. Jennifer Parenti, D-Erie.
Johnson and RTD chairman Erik Davidson, who also spoke to the committee, told lawmakers ridership is slowly improving.
They also said RTD is working to address other areas of concern.
One of those areas is safety.
Johnson said RTD has grown its police force.
“RTD’s transit police roughly had 20 sworn officers back in 2022 and we now have grown to 80 officers, with more than 20 recruits currently in training,” said Johnson.
Johnson asked lawmakers to consider what they could do to help keep transit workers safe.
“What I would request is that the general assembly explore deterrence measures and utilize these resources to develop solutions that send a strong message that transit workers are protected, and the state has a clear interest in doing its part to provide a welcoming transit environment for these critical public servants,” said Johnson.
Johnson did not talk about why RTD had parted ways with its police chief, Joel Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald had been on leave since July. His departure came as a surprise last week.
When Denver7 asked Johnson after the hearing when RTD would have a new police chief, Johnston ignored the question and walked away.
In a statement last week, the agency said Fitzgerald was no longer employed as of September 20.
The statement said the agency would announce plans for interim leadership in the coming days.
Denver7 is committed to making a difference in our community by standing up for what's right, listening, lending a helping hand and following through on promises. See that work in action, in the videos above.