Former Adams County Sheriff’s Office division chief pleads guilty and is sentenced in officer training records fraud scheme

Dec. 20, 2024 (DENVER) – Former Adams County Sheriff’s Office Division Chief Michael Bethel pleaded guilty and was sentenced today by a Denver District Court judge for his role in a law enforcement training records fraud scheme and claiming credit for state-mandated training that he did not complete.

In a plea agreement with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, Bethel pleaded guilty to one count felony forgery and two misdemeanor crimes of second-degree forgery and first-degree official misconduct. He received a 24-month deferred sentence on the felony forgery charge and a concurrent 24-month probation sentence on the misdemeanor charges. The judge also ordered $1,000 in fines and 100 hours of community service.

As part of a plea agreement, Bethel will relinquish his state peace officer certification and will no longer be eligible to serve as a peace officer in Colorado. He must also write a letter of apology to the Adams County Sheriff’s Office and to Colorado Peace Officers Standards and Training, also known as POST.

“Law enforcement officers have an obligation to complete important training as a requirement of maintaining their certifications. For those who fail to do so, and who defraud the state about meeting those requirements, there must be consequences. Our department is committed to holding accountable those officers who undermine the trust in the profession and violate the law,” said Attorney General Phil Weiser, who also serves as the chair of the Colorado POST Board.

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), which Weiser supported as part of law enforcement integrity legislation passed in 2020, 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.

The other two defendants in the training records scheme, former Adams County Sheriff Rick Reigenborn and former Undersheriff Thomas McLallen, pleaded guilty and were sentenced earlier this year.

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Media Contact:
Lawrence Pacheco
Chief Communications Officer
(720) 508-6553 office | (720) 245-4689 cell
lawrence.pacheco@coag.gov