Former Colorado officer Nathan Geerdes sentenced, will never work in law enforcement again
Former police officer Nathan Geerdes was sentenced on Monday to four years probation for crimes he committed between 2019 and 2021. Geerdes had pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual contact, misconduct and forgery in January.
As a result of his convictions, Geerdes lost his Peace Operations Specialized Training, or POST, certification and he can never work in law enforcement again.
Geerdes was a former sergeant with the Edgewater Police Department and most recently an officer for the Black Hawk Police Department. He initially faced four counts of unlawful sexual contact and one count of retaliation against a witness after a year-long grand jury investigation led to his indictment in December 2022. The Black Hawk Police Department fired Geerdes as a result of the accusations against him.
In June 2023, based on information gathered during the investigation and a direct complaint from Black Hawk Police Chief Michelle Moriarty, Geerdes was charged with five counts of attempt to influence a public servant and five counts of forgery related to false information he provided to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, Arvada Police Department, RTD Transit Police Department, Dacono Police Department, and the Black Hawk Police Department.
As a result of his plea, Geerdes will be required to register as a sex offender for the duration of the four years probation. The sexual offense will not be sealable upon the completion of the probationary period. According to the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office, if he violates the terms of his probation, he will face up to 24 months in jail for unlawful sexual contact and up to 3 years in prison for forgery.
The court heard from two of Geerdes' former victims, including a former female officer who left the Edgewater Police Department in 2014 and said she had to resign after she reported sexual harassment involving Geerdes, "You hunted, you preyed, you abused, and used your authority and your position to get away with what we were supposed to protect against... You don't deserve to wear the badge."
"The people's primary concerns in this case when considering a just outcome was that the defendant should never work in law enforcement again, and he won't; should have a felony conviction, and he does; and he ought to plead guilty to a sexual offense, and he did; however, the people assumed the defendant would have an iota of remorse, and he, unfortunately, does not," said Deputy District Attorney Brynn Chase in a statement. "We're not talking about "a" person who accused him of something; we're talking about people, and we're talking about a community that deserves to have the defendant held accountable for what he did to that community and for what he did to that badge that he no longer gets to wear by virtue of this plea."
Before imposing his sentence, First Judicial District Judge Christopher Rhamey addressed Geerdes directly, "Sir, you are the problem. You are the person that law enforcement talks about when they say 'a few bad apples'… you are the one creating the circumstances that your colleagues live with on a daily basis. It's you. You are the person that you guys sat around and talked about as people who are making life so hard for your former colleagues. You are the reason we see investigations into law enforcement… It's the right thing that you lose your POST certification, and it's right that you are not in law enforcement."
