Case of "actively roadraging" Colorado police officer highlights hiring pressures in small departments

An officer from a police department on the eastern is facing charges of reckless driving and failing to report an accident after the Colorado State Patrol says he was "actively roadraging" on Interstate 25 last August, causing an innocent motorist's car to roll over. The state patrol says Officer Jack Ross, who was off-duty at the time and driving a personal car, "fled the scene."

The next court date for Ross in the case is set for March 11. He is still an active officer in Keenesburg despite the state patrol's pending case, despite resigning from two previous departments while the subject of internal affairs investigations, and despite having a letter on file with district attorneys in Northern Colorado questioning his credibility.

Keenesburg Police Chief Jim Jensen said he hired Ross last August in spite of those career blemishes because he said Ross "was a viable candidate and the best fit for our town."

Smaller departments can't compete with big city police salaries, benefits  

The case of Jack Ross -- who declined to be interviewed by CBS Colorado -- exemplifies the hiring pressures faced by smaller departments in Colorado who can't offer the same salaries and benefits as big city departments and sometimes hire "second chance cops" who have either resigned while facing termination or been terminated by previous departments, but are able to land on their feet at other departments which have positions to fill.

Ross served as an officer with the Mead Police Department before joining the police department in Ault. Colorado's peace officer standards and training database shows Ross resigned from Ault in May of 2023 while under investigation. CBS Colorado obtained the internal investigation that led to his resignation. The department was scrutinizing Ross for not arresting a suspect who was in violation of a restraining order. Ross resigned during the investigation saying he had a job offer from another agency.

He joined the Keenesburg Police Department but eventually left that agency to join the nearby Hudson Police Department, which offered him a higher salary, according to Jensen.

But while with Hudson police, CSP troopers arrested him for the alleged road rage accident on I-25 in Larimer County on Aug. 16. Hudson Police Chief Scott Sedgwick said he learned about the off-duty incident from a tip, but the chief said Ross never revealed what had happened, a violation of Hudson police policies.

"We felt he was untruthful," said Sedgwick, "and before we could finish the investigation, he resigned and went back to the Keenesburg Police Department."

Keenesburg and Hudson are separated by about 8 miles. Sedgwick said he would not hire Ross again.

Jensen said he was deep in the hiring process and had made Ross a job offer before the I-25 incident in Larimer County. Asked why he did not rescind the offer, Jensen said "We had an employment history with him. I know what kind of police officer he is and how well he integrates into the community ... and I made the decision to bring him back."

He said Ross fits in well with the Keenesburg community and "does a good job and is a good solid police officer."

Police chief in Keenesburg believes in second chances  

He's not the only "second chance cop" hired by Jensen. Scot Persichette was a probationary police officer with the Denver Police Department but was fired in 2024 after he joked with other officers on a group text about getting target practice by shooting migrants in Denver. Two other Denver officers were also fired over the group text messages.

Jensen said Persichette "made a dumb comment that looks bad and is bad," but the chief said he believes in second chances and Persichitte is remorseful for what he did while with Denver.

"He got himself involved in a dumb conversation he regrets," said the chief.

Asked if hiring officers like Ross and Persichette could undermine public confidence in his department and law enforcement in general, Jensen said, "I think it could, yes."

 Jensen said his overall objective is to give Keenesburg "the best police department they can afford, so I hire the best cops I can find."

"The bigger communities can pay better and offer better benefit packages, and for younger officers, there's a more active call load."

He said those factors are "more enticing" for many officers.

"We all make mistakes," said the chief.

"How capable are we of learning from those mistakes and being better because of them?" said Jensen.

He said he is awaiting the outcome of the Ross criminal case before making any decisions about the officer's future.

Previous issues for "second chance cops" are complex, nuanced

In Hudson, Chief Scott Sedgwick says he, too, believes in second chances, which is why he is willing to hire officers like Jack Ross.

"I think there are some really good officers who maybe have made a mistake in the past, who go to another agency and they thrive and they flourish and they do a great job. We're not going to get the guy who wants to work for a big agency ... we don't pay $120,000 a year."

Sedgwick hired another young officer, Vanessa Trujillo, who resigned from the Parker Police Department in lieu of termination in December of 2024, according to the Colorado peace officer database.

According to the Parker police internal investigation into Trujillo, she "provided incomplete or misleading information on multiple occasions," she fell asleep on duty on multiple occasions and failed to answer radio and phone calls, she repeatedly violated department driving policies by driving around Parker at speeds of between 80 to 93 mph on numerous occasions when she was not responding to emergency calls, and her overall performance was deemed "unsatisfactory."

On Jan. 5, 2025, Parker's police chief wrote to the district attorney to notify them of Trujillo's "untruthfulness."

Sedgwick hired her anyway saying "We found some things in the investigation we didn't agree with. She was brand new and got swallowed up. We felt that even though they terminated her and even though they had a Brady letter, I don't think it was necessary."

While he said he had no issues with Trujillo's performance with the Hudson Police Department, Sedgwick said Trujillo left the department after about seven months and said she was leaving law enforcement.

"I try to hire the best officers we possibly can," said Sedgwick.

"We have to go through the applications we get and we have to find the best fit for us as an agency. The majority of the time that works out," said Sedgwick, "and sometimes it doesn't."

He said the majority of officers working for his department have good records when they are hired.

Both Sedgwick and Jensen said previous issues for their "second chance cops" are typically complex and nuanced.

Sedgwick said he currently has two vacant positions but "sometimes it's easier to have the vacancy than fill the position."