Sheriff Rebuts
Questionable Allegations

(Editor/GG: Another day in Happy Valley with the Tribune slinging mud against another county official. Sheriff Rich Smith received an email from the editor of the Wet Mountain Tribune last week that contained a draft of a variety of allegations against Sheriff Smith regarding hiring practices and issues with personnel in the department. Sheriff Smith responded that he would like to meet with the editor to discuss the draft but the editor declined the face-to-face, man-to-man encounter and demanded a written response instead.
Sheriff Smith wrote a response and sent a copy to the Sentinel. We are printing the response at the same time the allegations are being
published in the Tribune so our readers can see what the truth is (and just in case the Tribune doesn’t print the Sheriff’s response).
Next week, after we have read the hit piece we will parse it and give a detailed analysis. (This is gonna be fun. If the article was anything like the Trib editor’s kindergarten level criminal complaint last year against Commissioner Canda re the infamous Braden Wilson $45k severance check, we will be having some laughs, again, at the “creative” writing. Stay tuned.)

Sheriff Smith’s Response:
April 8, 2024
Jordan, thank you so much for putting these questions in writing, so that I can address them.
You are asking me a number of employee related questions which are often handled with a “no comment”, or “we don’t comment on personnel issues” response.
I believe it is a crucial part of my job, serving the people of Custer County, to be as open as I can be about how their government works, given certain limitations dictated by laws and regulations.
I am able to share some details about the following employees because there has been outside independent investigations into their actions and those investigatory reports are a part of public record. You are welcome to come to the office and view the report (it’s in a 3 ring binder – not conducive to scanning them in a scanner or copier).

-Sgt Jason Salbato was investigated by the 11th JD DA as a result of an outside complaint. He was ultimately charged with a crime. He was fired as a consequence of his arrest along with other allegations not yet under investigation. I believe you have all of the records available given that it is currently under the jurisdiction of the DA for prosecution.

-Deputy James Barr, a school resource officer, was placed on modified duty outside the school. His name was mentioned in the above complaint. He was not charged with a crime. However, he is still under investigation for agency policy violations.
- Under Sheriff Susan Barnes. Was viscously attacked, while on duty at Green Mountain Falls, by two men and beaten very badly.

She didn’t receive the support and care by her employer after that incident. That has led her to be a champion for officer safety training which we have upgraded for our deputies, along with training in de escalation. There is no evidence that Susan Barnes was involved with any crime at the Town of Florence. She was later promoted to Sergeant and advocated for community safety and a strong community relationship.

- Mike De Laurentis. There is no evidence that Chief De Laurentis was involved in any crime in the Town of Florence. While there, outside investigations were completed by the Fountain Police Dept., 11th JD DA, CBI and the new city manager. De Laurentis was not charged. He took the job there to help clean the department and build it back stronger. At one point the Town of Florence offered a benefit to all town employees for a payroll advance. Chief De Laurentis paid back his advance under the conditions required of all Town of Florence employees.

While he and Susan Barnes did not work at the Florence Police Department at the same time (De Laurentis left in September 2019, Susan joined in May 2021), they both had the strong desire to help make the department better. That is completely in line with my goal of helping to make the Custer Sheriff’s Officer better than when I started. I hope that each successive Sheriff in Custer County will work to leave it better than when they started. She was NOT fired from Pikes Peak Community College Police Department. She does have a pending civil suit but it is not related to wrongful termination as you stated. I know that you used to work as a paralegal and understand that she nor I can comment on her private civil suit while it is in litigation.

In my past responsibilities as Troop Commander for the Colorado State Patrol in the 11th Judicial District. I had the opportunity to regularly meet with and work alongside all of the sheriffs and police chiefs in the four county area encompassing the 11th Judicial District. I met Chief De Laurentis approximately 9 years ago and the CSP rented office space for my troop in the Town of Florence City Building. Chief De Laurentis was a great law enforcement partner to work with and I trust him completely. I met Susan Barnes about 15 years ago through professional work and collaboration within our own agencies.
Despite personally knowing De Laurentis and Barnes I conducted a background check to determine if they met the standards of the Custer County Sheriff’s Office. I even spoke with their past employers and even the background investigators for those agencies. I checked the Colorado POST database for troubled or decertified officers and all of
the people I have hired have clear records with no negative actions with the state.https://post.coag.gov/s/ They are equally committed to helping make the Custer County Sheriff’s Office to provide the best services to our community and to make it a terrific place to work.
One of my favorite books on team development is about Kelly Johnson who headed the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works projects. He identifies the four stages of team development. These stages are; form, storm, norm, and perform. Since the election, our team has gone through these same four stages. This can occur with each change of sheriff or police chief.
At the Sheriff’s Office we discipline people on our high standards and performance. I feel the staff shares my commitment to keep the community safe and a commitment to work to make our agency the best it can be.
I am very excited with the positive changes and improvements our staff has achieved in the past year. I look forward to continuing to improve each year.

Custer County Sheriff Rich Smith