Boulder County Sheriff: David D. Hayes

Name: David D. Hayes

Website URL: HayesforBoulderCountySheriff.com

Age: 53

Family: Two daughters, Courtney and Amanda

How long have you lived in Boulder County: Since 1977.

Professional background: Chief of police in Louisville, 2014-present

Political/community experience: Served Boulder County communities since June of 1977, Vice President Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, member of Boulder Chapter NAACP, member of Democratic Women of Boulder County

Education: B.S. Degree Metropolitan State College/Criminal Justice-Political Science, Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command

Both you and your opponent have had long careers in law enforcement. What do you believe makes you best qualified for his position? I am the only candidate that has law enforcement executive experience including serving as a Boulder County police chief. I am the only candidate that is willing to address a needed culture change. The sheriff’s office jail staff has used Tasers on two individuals who were in restraints and secured in the jail, and there are two former deputies currently serving time in the Department of Corrections for manslaughter (for the death of a young University of Colorado Boulder student who was in their custody). While serving as the Louisville police chief I have established a value-based management system; established a co-responder model; and the department became accredited. I also had a 36-year career at the Boulder Police Department serving in many leadership roles, including deputy chief of police (1998-2014).

Boulder County has gone through several devastating natural disasters in recent years. How do you think the county could be better prepared to respond to those types of situations? Our Emergency Citizen Notification System is inadequate, which I and other public safety leaders in Boulder County are in the process of addressing. Enhanced system needs both public safety and community input. Many Boulder County fire departments have been asking for differential dispatching, a concern raised two years ago. Not making a distinction in how fire departments are sent to a grass fire on a dry, high wind day versus a cold winter day with snow on the ground and little wind can no longer continue. The sheriff’s office did not, and has not, ensured that this request was executed.

Since the pandemic, there has been much discussion in Colorado surrounding bond issues, recidivism, and which offenses require arrest. What are your thoughts on pre-trial incarceration in relation to community safety and inmate rights? In addition to community safety and inmate rights, we also need to consider victim rights. Regardless of whether someone is incarcerated, there needs to be bond conditions and oversight of the defendant that also serve to help protect the community, and the victim(s). With this said, I am also a firm believer that only those individuals who present an articulable risk to the community or individual victims, or those with a history of failure to appear, should be subject to pre-trial incarceration. We need to address implicit bias in the system.