Former Adams County undersheriff sentenced to 24 months probation in officer training records fraud scheme

Jan. 26, 2024 (DENVER)—Thomas McLallen, a former undersheriff with the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, today pleaded guilty in Denver District Court to one count second-degree forgery, a class two misdemeanor, and one count first-degree official misconduct, a class one misdemeanor, for his role in carrying out a scheme to falsify records and claim credit for state-mandated law enforcement training that he did not complete.

McLallen was sentenced to 24 months supervised probation, and he must write a letter of apology to the men and women of the Adams County Sheriff’s Office. As part of a plea agreement, McLallen will relinquish his state peace officer certification and will no longer be eligible to serve as a peace officer in Colorado. He will also cooperate with prosecutors and be available to testify in any co-defendant cases.

“We are committed to law enforcement integrity and taking seriously steps to undermine our state’s training system,” stated Weiser. “This action advances that work and makes clear the obligations of law enforcement officers to engage in training in an appropriate manner.”

McLallen signed various training rosters for classes he did not attend and submitted training certificates to Colorado Peace Officer Standards and Training, also known as POST, to count these fictitious trainings towards his 2021 mandatory annual training hours. Without counting the fraudulent trainings, McLallen did not have the hours needed to meet his in-service training requirements for 2021.

Colorado peace officers are required to complete a minimum of 24 hours of annual in-service training, including at least 12 hours of perishable skills training in arrest control, driving, and firearms. Law enforcement agencies are responsible for submitting truthful and accurate data to POST. A law enforcement agency can lose access to POST grant funds if it is found to be out of compliance with POST training rules due to their officers failing to complete required annual training.

State law, C.R.S. 24-31-307(3), authorizes the attorney general to enforce violations of POST training standards and bring criminal charges if the violation is knowingly or intentional, or impose fines.

Former Adams County Sheriff Richard Reigenborn and former Division Chief Michael Bethel also face charges in the training records scheme. Each defendant is charged with felony counts of forgery, attempt to influence a public servant, conspiracy to commit forgery, and conspiracy to attempt to influence a public servant. Their cases are pending in Denver District Court.

The filing of criminal charges is a formal accusation that an individual committed a crime under Colorado laws. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

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