DENVER – U.S. Justice Department will review a troubled suburban Denver police department’s policies and procedures after city leaders said a series of high-profile misconduct cases involving officers have eroded public trust, officials said Wednesday.

The Commerce City Police Department sought the review by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services in July, after two officers were criminally charged within six months and others resigned during internal investigations.

One officer staged his own shooting last year and another was charged with unlawful sexual contact after being accused of touching three women during traffic stops.

“Anytime you have officers committing crimes while on duty, that is going to challenge the trust of the community in its police department,” Interim Chief Lowell Richardson said. “It’s our responsibility to restore that trust.”

The Justice Department will study a number of factors, including hiring, recruitment methods and the way Commerce City’s roughly 100 sworn officers patrol and interact with the community.

Investigators will interview officers and command staff as well as residents and activists.

Commerce City is the 13th city in the country to undergo such a federal review. The voluntary process is considered less of a stigma than investigations undertaken by civil rights investigators that can lead to overhauls and court-enforceable agreements between the police force and the federal government.

Bob Troyer, acting U.S. attorney in Colorado, called it “the most hopeful first step you can imagine.”

The agency’s findings could be available in six to eight months, with regular progress reports to follow for about two years.