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Interim police chief to take stock of department

Lynn Johnson says he’ll take a wait-and-see approach
Lynn Johnson, interim chief of the Durango Police Department, said he hopes to provide strong leadership, learn how the department and the community interact, and offer advice on a permanent replacement.

Sometimes life moves in circles, which appears to be the case for Lynn Johnson, who graduated from Durango’s Fort Lewis College in 1973, had a 41-year career with the Arvada Police Department, and returned this month to serve as interim chief for the

It’s not like Johnson left Durango and never looked back. He has returned nearly every year to ride his Ducati and Harley-Davidson motorcycles on the winding and scenic roads around the Four Corners.

“There’s so much beautiful country here to ride motorcycles – Telluride, Ouray, over all those passes, into Durango and so forth,” he said. “I’ve generally done that once a year for a long time.”

But there won’t be much motorcycle riding in Johnson’s immediate future. He left his motorcycles at home in Arvada, knowing that winter is coming and a permanent police chief will likely be named in March.

During his short stay, Johnson, 65, said he wants to provide stable leadership, learn as much about the community as possible, and perhaps offer input in the search for a suitable successor.

“By the time they get to the point where they’re ready to make a selection for a long-term chief, I will have a better foundation and be able to know what the new chief is going to be stepping into,” he said.

Johnson, who started Oct. 17, hit the ground running. Upon his arrival, he learned Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence would visit in three days, and the Durango Police Department had to coordinate security with the U.S. Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies.

“The staff here did a great job of coordinating that,” he said. “I didn’t take much of a hand in that – was just involved with the meetings. ... They did a nice job.”

Johnson has broad experience in nearly every facet of law enforcement: He has done traffic patrol; undercover work; teamed up with the Drug Enforcement Agency; worked in internal affairs and investigations; served as a commander; and oversaw communications, records, patrol shifts, 911 operations and SWAT.

He graduated from the FBI academy and retired as deputy chief of the Arvada Police Department.

“I was pretty fortunate,” he said. “I did a lot different jobs in terms of what’s offered in the business.”

It’s too early to know how he may help the Police Department grow for the future, he said.

“I’m still in the process of getting my feet on the ground, learning the culture of the DPD, and I haven’t met many of the employees here yet,” he said. “As I grow into this job and get to know the people and the culture, it will become less hectic and easier for me to see how I can help bring leadership to the Police Department here.”

His wife, M.J. Menendez, is an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Colorado, where she works in the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. He also has a daughter who is a detective in Lakewood. Johnson is living in a condominium owned by the city of Durango during his interim tenure.

He said he’s a “huge proponent” of community policing – building relationships with service organizations, the business community, and other agencies – to understand how they want to be policed.

“My intention is to make the police department and the service we provide as transparent to the community as I can – make it as easy and convenient for people to contact and have interaction with us about issues that are happening, whether it’s in their neighborhood, their community or with the Police Department itself.”

shane@durangoherald.com

Oct 14, 2016
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