Police Chief Maris Herold leaving Boulder for federal job

Boulder police Chief Maris Herold is leaving after just under four years for a job with the Department of Justice. Herold will work to advance policing reform at the Law Enforcement Knowledge Lab starting Jan. 22, according to a release. The role involves a two year commitment. “It has been an honor and privilege to serve the Boulder community,” said Herold in a statement.

“I am humbled by the opportunity to serve my profession at a national level and continue to promote the importance of fair and effective policing.” Herold became Boulder’s first female police chief when she started in Boulder in April 2020 after being hired out of the University of Cincinnati Police Department.

In 1993, she began as a police officer with the Cincinnati Police Department, where she worked for 27 years. In 2015, she retired with the rank of captain and then joined the University of Cincinnati Police Department shortly after. Prior to becoming an officer, she was employed as a sexual assault investigator and a psychiatric intake worker in a juvenile mental health facility.

Throughout her career with the Boulder Police Department, Herold developed and implemented several notable initiatives, including mental health response teams, numerous crime reduction efforts, and new training to support a constitutional police response, according to a release. Notably, she led the agency through the 2021 mass shooting at the Table Mesa King Soopers that took the life of nine civilians and Boulder police Officer Eric Talley, the department’s .

“Chief Herold was what our community and our police department needed and the changes she has made with a focus on problem oriented policing will be felt for years to come,” said City Manager Nuria Rivera Vandermyde in a statement. “We’re all thankful for the strategies she has implemented here in Boulder and wish her the best as she takes this approach to an even bigger audience.” Prior to this announcement, Boulder spokesperson Sarah Huntley stated that Herold had stepped away from the office in December after applying for Family and Medical Leave Act absence to attend to a personal issue out of state.

During that time, Huntley said Herold had been “working closely with her leadership team within the police department to ensure continuity of oversight and services, including delegation of responsibilities as needed during this temporary accommodation. She has also remained in regular communication with the city manager.

At the time, Huntley said Herold was expected to return in early January, but it was not clarified Wednesday whether Herold had returned to the office prior to the announcement she was leaving the department. Boulder police Deputy Chief Stephen Redfearn will take over as interim chief, effective Jan.

22. “I am genuinely humbled and honored to be entrusted with this new role,” Redfearn said in a statement. “Together we are uniquely positioned to model a positive path forward with policing that is equitable, effective, and in partnership with the community.” Redfearn came to the Boulder Police Department in fall 2021 with nearly 25 years of policing experience, including at the Aurora Police Department.

Redfearn came under fire late last year when members of NAACP Boulder County over his involvement and testimony in the Elijah McClain murder case..