Colorado board decertifies former Lakeside police chief after embezzlement conviction

Colorado's Peace Officer Standards and Training Board has revoked the state peace officer license of Robert Gordanier, the former Lakeside police chief.

According to the P.O.S.T. Website, the action against Gordanier was taken on June 6 and was a result of his conviction for embezzlement of public property, a felony, which grew out of a CBS News Colorado investigation.

Gordanier pleaded guilty in January to the felony charge, along with misdemeanor official misconduct, in connection with a car-flipping scheme uncovered by CBS News Colorado.

Gordanier received four years of probation and was ordered to repay the town of Lakeside $26,088.

In 2023, CBS News Colorado reported on multiple instances of Gordanier allowing his daughter to buy three town police vehicles for pennies on the dollar. Documents showed he allowed her to buy some vehicles for as little as $300. 

Brenda Hamilton, Gordanier's daughter, pleaded guilty in May and received three years probation.

Police officers in Colorado who are decertified can no longer legally work in the jurisdiction that certified them unless their certification is reinstated. The attorney who represented Gordanier during his criminal trial, Paul Zarlengo, did not immediately respond to an email from CBS News seeking comment on the decertification move.