RTD police chief rarely visited RTD facilities, records show; Agency remains tight-lipped about leave
It's been over a month since RTD Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald Sr. was put on leave and the public agency has yet to explain why.
According to internal memos obtained by CBS News Colorado, Fitzgerald is under investigation for "alleged policy violations."
While it's unclear what policies the chief is accused of violating, current and former staff under Fitzgerald raised concerns with CBS News Colorado about his time at RTD, prompting a public records request for Fitzgerald's security badge data.
RTD employees use the badges to enter and exit RTD facilities and each swipe is tracked.
Those records show Fitzgerald swiped his badge an average of only nine days a month over his two years leading the department.
In September of 2022, his first full month working in Denver, he had the most swipes with eighteen days.
Fitzgerald was hired as concerns around safety on RTD buses and light rail soared. At that time, he told CBS News Colorado that his focus would be on increasing security.
"To be that police department, that when you ride RTD, you say 'I know I'm riding and that I'm going to be safe and that I'm going to be secure,'" Fitzgerald said during his swearing-in ceremony in August of 2022.
Fitzgerald was among the highest-paid police chiefs in the state on his first day, almost immediately after RTD welcomed him.
But the alarm had been sounding with multiple people, including former officers under Fitzgerald, commenting of "a chief who is never in town" and warning that "he has history."
In response to a request for comment on the chief's badge information and an update on the investigation, an RTD spokesperson said, "as a public agency, RTD expects its employees to conduct themselves professionally and adhere to all policies and procedures. RTD is committed to understanding the facts surrounding activities that may be inconsistent with policies and procedures to ensure an appropriate response is applied."