by George Gramlich
Lloyd “Rich” Smith moved to Custer County in 2016 when he was promoted to serve as the Troop Commander of Colorado State Patrol Troop 2A. Troop 2A encompasses the four counties of 11th Judicial District; Chaffee, Custer, Fremont and Park. Rich retired last week after serving an incredible 20-year career in the Colorado State Patrol.
Rich’s father served in the Air Force and Rich grew up around the U.S. but the family always considered Colorado Springs to be ‘home’. After graduating high school in Oklahoma City, Rich became a volunteer EMT and served 10 years as a volunteer with the Red Cross Disaster Action Team. A significant day in his life was the day of the Oklahoma City bombing that killed and wounded hundreds. Rich was a first responder there and the experience changed his personal vision from helping people after disasters and emergencies to preventing these disasters and emergencies. The final catalyst that got Rich into the law enforcement field was 9/11. Rich applied for the CSP the next day and was hired in 2002 to attend the six-month police academy. After training, Rich did a two-year stint as road patrol trooper in Summit County. In 2005, he was promoted to the very prestigious Colorado State Patrol Office of Preparedness & Security Section. Within that Section, he was assigned to the elite Rubicon Team as a Critical Infrastructure Protection Specialist. This was a very high-speed outfit which protects our state infrastructure from terror threats. Based on their research, The Team applied their lessons learned to create model security plans for schools. In 2008, Rich was promoted to State Patrol Sergeant and assigned to Colorado State Patrol Troop 2B in Colorado Springs.
In 2010, Rich was assigned to the Colorado Department of Public Safety – Criminal Investigations Branch and within that to the Colorado Information Analysis Center (CIAC), State Fusion Center. There he did a myriad of jobs: he supervised CSP investigators assigned to several major crimes federal task forces. These task forces included; child sex trafficking, bank robberies and the joint terrorist task force. He also supervised crime analysts to assist field investigations across the state. Finally, in 2016, Rich was promoted to Captain and designated Troop Commander of Colorado State Patrol Troop 2A.
While in Custer County Smith volunteered with Custer County Search and Rescue and the County Dive & Rescue Team. He also works part time as an emergency medical
technician on Custer EMS.
Smith earned a bachelor of science in Organizational Leadership and completed the Northwestern University School of Police Command and Staff, the International Association of Chief’s of Police Leadership in Police Organizations, and the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Leadership Development Association training programs.
Now in 2022, after a rewarding 20-year run, Captain Lloyd “Rich” Smith has retired. We all want to thank him for his amazing service to our state and wish him the best luck going forward.