Brett Deming, a veteran officer of the Fort Lewis College Police and Parking Services Department, has been named chief of the agency after the retirement of Arnold Trujillo.
“It’s a unique animal working on campus in a small agency. You’re working with a lot of individuals in the 18- to 24-year age group, and you really have an opportunity to impact their lives and make a difference in that person’s life. Just to have the opportunity to impact a young person’s life and help them make better decisions is very rewarding,” Deming said in a telephone interview.
Deming is an alumnus of FLC, graduating in 1997 with a degree in biology.
After graduation, he was hired as a security guard by the agency he currently leads, and he said former FLC Police Chief Trujillo and FLC Vice President Glenna Sexton were instrumental in sending him to the Southwest Community College Law Enforcement Academy, where his tuition was covered by the college.
Deming met his wife, Amy, while both were students at FLC.
He graduated from the SWCC Law Enforcement Academy as valedictorian in 2000, when he became a police officer with the department. He has worked his way up the department since then, and before his promotion to police chief, he served as a sergeant. He has been serving as police chief since Dec. 18.
“My initial intent was to spend approximately five years with the department to repay the college for the time and money it invested into my police academy training,” Deming said in a news release issued by FLC. “I quickly learned that the campus law enforcement field was a very rewarding field, providing an opportunity to work with many young adults, community members, faculty, staff and neighboring law enforcement agencies.”
Deming said the rewards of working on campus for a small law enforcement agency altered his original plan to pursue a law enforcement career with Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
Deming also serves as a firearms instructor at the Southwest Community College Law Enforcement Academy.
Deming grew up in Duchesne, Utah, about 114 miles east of Salt Lake City, and he moved to Bayfield during high school.
parmijo@durangoherald.com
