Dan McCasky never really wanted to be a police chief. But that’s where the 32-year law enforcement veteran finds himself, after his recent appointment as the top cop in Lakewood.

Following a nationwide search to fill the position vacated by Kevin Paletta in May, McCasky, a 30-year department veteran who had served as the interim chief, was selected to lead the Lakewood Police Department at an annual salary of $162,000.

“It wasn’t ever really front and center” to be a police chief, McCasky, 54, said. “But every promotion that came along, I found I liked the challenges and issues. And I’ve always enjoyed doing many things and not staying in one place.”

McCasky has held line level, supervisory and leadership positions in all three of the department’s divisions.

“We looked across the nation at candidates for this position, and Dan was the clear choice for leading the department,” said City Manager Kathy Hodgson. “He brings experience, depth of knowledge and leadership qualities respected by his co-workers, peers and other agencies. Dan is a natural communicator who brings people together.”

A Denver-area resident for more than 40 years, McCasky most recently served as the division chief of the patrol division. He graduated from the University of Northern Colorado in 1984 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology. He began his career in Lakewood in 1986, and in 1991 McCasky earned a master’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Colorado.

McCasky said an issue soon to surface are pending retirements of most of the department’s command staff.

“We’ve got three retirements, so there are a lot of internal promotions to make,” he noted. “And we’ve already lost several other command positions that need to be filled.”

McCasky said the department plans to seek up to 25 police recruits in January, but overall, “We’re not getting the number of applicants we used to get and, like a lot of law enforcement departments, we have a lot of attrition.”

Lakewood’s 2017 budget includes funds for eight new officers, six will be patrol officers and two in investigations.

Continuing good community relationships

Lakewood’s police have historically had good partnerships with community members and groups, McCasky said, and the city has managed to avoid the violent incidents that have embroiled other communities nationwide.

“We’ve always tried to build trust through transparency with what we do,” McCasky added. “We always work at that and try not to take it for granted. I’ll continue to stress that to our officers, but it’s really so well ingrained into our culture, I won’t have to say much.”

Having good community relationships can help keep people from jumping to conclusions if a violent incident does happen, he said.

“So if we do something wrong, we aren’t going to hide it,” McCasky stated. “That’s where a lot of communities get it wrong. We’re always upfront with everything we do. It’s part of community policing.”

The shooting death of Lakewood agent Jim Davies on Nov. 9, 2012, is the last violent incident McCasky recalled that stirred up the community. The city ended up paying Davies’ widow, Tamara,  $3.5 million in exchange for the woman dropping a lawsuit over her husband’s line-of-duty death.

James Davies was shot and killed by a fellow officer who mistook Davies for an armed suspect. The lawsuit claimed the death was preventable.

“We brought in outside agencies to take a look at it and we released an independent report” on Davies’ death, McCasky said. “That was a painful time, emotionally painful, for us as a department and the community.”

The department also made close to 90 changes to the way its officers work to improve public and officer safety.

McCasky serves on several committees and boards, including Ralston House and Foothills Animal Shelter. He previously served as a board member for both the Colorado Association of Sex Crimes Investigators and the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault. In 2007, he received the Police Service Medal for his work with the Colorado Association of Sex Crimes Investigators.

McCasky  is the eighth police chief in the Lakewood department’s history. His promotion also brings to 72 the total number of police chiefs, sheriffs or law enforcement CEOs that Lakewood’s department has generated.

McCasky and his wife, Teresa, have two daughters and a son, who is also a police officer in the Denver metro area.