City of Edgewater Press Release: Response to District Attorney’s Office

This week, the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office issued press releases regarding additional charges in a grand jury investigation of a former Edgewater Police Officer and an investigation request to the Colorado Attorney General. Additionally, this week City staff became aware of a lawsuit through the local media. In full transparency, the City would like to share the following information with the Edgewater community.

On Monday June 26, First Judicial District Attorney Alexis King’s office released an affidavit detailing additional charges being brought against former police sergeant, Nathan Geerdes. Mr. Geerdes was indicted by a grand jury on December 2, 2022. The case has not yet been heard by the district court. The grand jury investigation was done in secrecy and complete facts and findings of the case have not been shared with City of Edgewater, outside of the affidavit shared this past week. The City of Edgewater is interested in better understanding the case and the findings as it is released through the court system.

On Tuesday, June 27 City of Edgewater staff was made aware of a lawsuit filed by a former Police Officer against the City, naming several staff both current and past. A copy of the lawsuit was shared by a local media contact as staff had not yet received the filed lawsuit. The lawsuit is an account of a personnel situation with a former City employee. All facts will be made public through the court trial process. At this time, several items are not available to share due to privacy and personnel restrictions. However, the City will willingly provide all details during the court trial process.

On Wednesday, June 28 the City was made aware of District Attorney King’s investigation request to the Attorney General’s Office. Allegations of bullying and retaliation are despicable in nature and that type of behavior will never be tolerated in the current administration of the Edgewater Police Department or City government. We currently do not know about the incidents from 2016-2021 referenced in the media release as no information has been shared regarding those allegations. The City of Edgewater and our new leadership in the Police Department, look forward to an opportunity to address District Attorney King’s concerns and share changes that have been implemented since the time of the alleged incidents.

The City of Edgewater has worked closely with District Attorney King’s office and we will continue that cooperation as needed to address any continuing concerns. The City agrees with the District Attorney that Edgewater has “many dedicated hardworking police officers who serve and protect their community with integrity” and agrees that we can improve while continuing to move forward positively. We stand firm that the City of Edgewater will continue to provide the exceptional Police Service that the great community of Edgewater expects.