Colorado's RTD settles wrongful termination lawsuit with former police chief

Newly obtained paperwork reveals the Regional Transportation District settled the lawsuit with former police chief Joel Fitzgerald for $10,000. The settlement was signed back in December 2025, but it was not made public until CBS News Colorado filed an open records request.

Fitzgerald was fired on Sept. 20, 2024, after two years on the job. At the time, RTD and its CEO Debra Johnson remained tight-lipped about Fitzgerald's suspension and subsequent firing. But CBS News Colorado filed an open records request and obtained the termination letter, which detailed several violations of RTD policy, including use of excessive speed while driving an RTD Police Department vehicle, improperly attempting to purchase a firearm using an RTD P-card, and approving a business trip for staff after the trip had been denied because it violated the Code of Ethics. 

In November of 2024, Fitzgerald sued RTD, claiming he was wrongly terminated and alleging racial discrimination. In his federal lawsuit, Fitzgerald claimed he was subjected to "unprofessional outbursts in high-level leadership meetings," false allegations from White officers and investigations into him and other Black officers and employees "at disproportionately higher rates than White officers/employees" and for alleged infractions that White employees had never previously been investigated for.

In the settlement agreement, RTD disputes Fitzgerald's claims, but agrees to settle the lawsuit to avoid future litigation.

When he was hired in 2022, Fitzgerald's salary was set at $250,000, making him one of the highest-paid police chiefs in the state. Before joining the RTD Transit Police Department, Fitzgerald had about 30 years of experience in law enforcement and was police chief in four cities -- Missouri City, Texas; Allentown, Pennsylvania; Fort Worth, Texas and Waterloo, Iowa. He was fired from his job as chief in Fort Worth in 2019. As a result, he sued the city, arguing he was fired for trying to expose corruption in the city. That lawsuit was settled in 2024, with the city approving a $5.2 million payout.