Pueblo Police Chief Luis Velez has called it a career after 40 years in law enforcement, including a very productive past six years heading our city’s police department. The chief has earned a fond farewell from the community he has faithfully served since 2011. Prior to coming to Pueblo, Velez spent 31 years in the Colorado Springs Police Department.

Velez cultivated a healthy respect for the office of chief of police and for the chain of command through the ranks. Heading into his last day on the job last week, Velez told The Chieftain, “First of all, there’s no crises going on. We had received national accreditation through CALEA (Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies) in late March of this year. Earlier this year we completed our strategic plan through 2020. A lot of pieces fell into place.”

Under Velez, the Pueblo Police Department was among the first in Colorado to adopt police body cameras for recording officers’ activities, including interactions with crime subjects and others that may need to be documented for later review. The cameras probably already have prevented groundless complaints against the police.

Read more at The Pueblo Chieftain.