Commerce City will hire a Colorado-based police consultant with 30 years of police chief experience to run the Police Department until a permanent chief can be found.

The City of Commerce City said Aug. 2 that it will hire Richard W. Myers as interim chief of police, effective Aug. 8. He will replace Clint Nichols who retired from the position effective July 25.

“I'm honored to have the opportunity to serve as interim chief of police for Commerce City,” said Myers. “I look forward to working with everyone from the line level employees to the command staff to help prepare the department for its next chief.”

Myers was chief of police for the Colorado Springs Police Department from 2007 to 2011. He then started a police consulting firm and has mostly resided in Colorado since that time, except for one year as interim chief in Sanford, Fla. and nearly four years as chief in Newport News, Va. Myers is a Certified Law Enforcement Executive by the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police.

Myers has served as a chief or interim chief of police in eight different jurisdictions spanning six states since 1984. He also served the board for the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies from 2009-17 and as the group's president in 2015.

Myers also spent two years (2017-2019) as executive director of the Major Cities Chiefs Association and is currently an executive fellow for the National Policing Institute.

“Chief Myers brings a wealth of experience and recognition in the public safety field to our organization,” said City Manager Roger Tinklenberg in a written statement. “He is a proven leader with a history of positive results both as a permanent and interim chief, in Colorado and across the country.”

Myers said he hopes Commerce City residents will communicate with him about what they need.

“While I have some familiarity with the agency, I would like to hear the community's needs and expectations for the department, as well as hearing from the people who do the hard work every day on how I can help them continue to improve public safety services in Commerce City,” Myers said.

Former chief Nichols left the position amidst some controversy after he was stopped for traffic violations in Utah while traveling between Commerce City and his family's home in Las Vegas in 2020.

Tinklenberg said he's confident that Myers will help the department.

“I am confident in his ability to bolster communication within the department, evaluate organizational needs and move the department forward until a permanent chief is in place,” Tinklenberg said.

A nationwide search for CCPD's next permanent chief of police will begin immediately, starting with a solicitation for a professional recruiting firm to conduct the process.