Denver firefighters face pressure campaign, scare tactics ahead of no-confidence vote
In the run up to a no-confidence vote this month on Denver Fire Chief Desmond Fulton, rank-and-file firefighters are facing a pressure campaign seeking to get them to vote against the no-confidence vote on Fulton. CBS News Colorado has obtained multiple anonymous letters that have been sent to Denver fire stations over the last two weeks, warning firefighters that a vote of no confidence might have severe financial repercussions.
Assistant Chief Patrick Hynes, who called for the no-confidence vote, said, "The divide is between the command staff and the rest of the membership. Virtually everyone I talk to is prepared to vote no-confidence in the chief."
It's unclear who is behind the anonymous letters, but Hynes said "If the letters were factual and making an argument or case I think the firefighters would listen, but they're not even listening to these letters."
One letter received at Denver firehouses warned, "A vote of no confidence will affect how much money you make in the future. The city is already pissed off. ... A vote against the chief will not bode well for a big pay increase we deserve."
The firefighters and the city are scheduled to negotiate a new contract this year, and the letters suggest a no-confidence vote will impact negotiations.
"Think about the implications of voting Desmond out," said one letter. "You really think he is gonna fight for better pay and benefits for us if we vote him out."
The vote -- scheduled for Feb. 20 and 21 -- was triggered by a CBS News Colorado investigation in April 2024.
That found Denver's fire chief, who earns $230,000 per year and is one of the city's highest paid workers, had also amassed more than 400 hours of "comp time" in the last three years by attending memorial services for firefighters, attending retirement parties for his employees, attending mayoral forums and going to a candlelight vigil for victims of the Club Q mass shooting in 2022. It's a practice one veteran Denver firefighter termed "disgusting." A review of Fulton's work records from 2021, 2022 and 2023 showed he repeatedly racked up comp time or flex time by attending events that others viewed as being part of his job. He could then use that comp time to cover his vacations, and cash in unused vacations days at the end of each year -- which he did.
Fulton would routinely stop by Denver firehouses for weekly dinners, but records show each time he did that, he would bill for 3 to 4 hours of comp time.
In 2021, he billed 7 hours of comp time for attending the Major League Baseball Home Run Derby in Denver, then racked up another 6-and-a-half hours of comp time the following day for attending the MLB All Star Game.
If he came in early to attend a retirement send-off on a weekend for one of his subordinates, he would routinely record 2 to 3 hours of comp time.
When he attended a memorial in Lakewood in 2022 for fallen Colorado firefighters, Fulton charged 3-and-a-half hours of comp time, according to his records. Later in 2022, he collected another five hours of comp time for attending a fallen firefighter memorial in Colorado Springs.
In October 2022, Fulton attended a national firefighters memorial in Maryland over the course of a weekend. All travel costs were paid by the city of Denver, according to city officials, and Fulton charged 19 hours of comp time for attending the weekend events. Comp or flex time can be used the same as vacation time, and Fulton has been doing that, according to his records. But by using flex or comp time for time off, actual vacation days can be cashed in at the end of each year, which Fulton and his executive staff have done. Records show that for 2021, 2022 and 2023, Fulton was able to return unused vacation days and was paid $42,000 for that unused vacation time, or an average of about $14,000 each year on top of his annual salary. For the same three years, his deputy chief and division chiefs also cashed in unused vacation time and collected a total of roughly $120,000.
The practice of "selling" unused vacation time back to the city at the end of the year is allowed for all fire department members, but department emails show rank-and-file firefighters are heavily pressured to use all of their vacation days every year, essentially preventing them from cashing out many unused vacation days, as the executive staff has been doing on a regular basis.
The Manager of Safety put an immediate stop to the practice following the 2024 CBS news report, and the city commissioned an independent investigation which was released in October 2024. It found the years-long practice was a violation of Denver's Revised Municipal Code, "an organizational failing" and a "problematic practice."
Mayor Mike Johnston said after the report was released, he was asking Fire Chief Desmond Fulton to repay some of the vacation time Fulton has cashed out since 2023, and the mayor said what happened was, "A troubling and systemic misuse of Flex Time."
Rank-and-file firefighters assumed the chief and his top commanders would be disciplined, but four months after the official city investigation was released, there has been no discipline imposed on Fulton or his inner circle. Hynes said that's what led to the no-confidence vote.
"Ultimately the vote comes down to firefighters being fed up with the double standard. Desmond promotes the swift and direct discipline he has handed down and demands complete accountability, especially from promoted individuals," said Hynes. "The firefighters see the lack of any discipline in the flex-time scandal as proof that Desmond and the command staff consider themselves too important and clever to have to follow the law and are not to be held to the rule of law."
Last month, Mayor Johnston sent a letter to the fire department implying he would not agree to any discipline in the comp time scandal. Johnston wrote that the faulty practice had been ongoing for years, and Chief Fulton "agreed to voluntarily pay back those hours for which he claimed reimbursement during the year of our administration to ensure there was no intentional breach of the public trust."
Johnston wrote, "I reiterate my full support for Chief Fulton ... I have full faith in his leadership."
A spokesperson for the mayor said, Johnston "is committed to ensuring equitable and fair practices among all staff, especially leadership. The thorough investigation found that this practice started more than a decade ago, well before Chief Fulton was appointed. Chief Fulton has taken full responsibility for continuing the practice, paid back the time, and he and his command staff now know Mayor Johnston's expectations of accountability. Chief Fulton has been a strong advocate for the men and women of the Denver Fire department, as highlighted in the letter, and he has Mayor Johnston's full support."
In October of 2023, Mayor Johnston asked firefighters to fill out anonymous surveys about the DFD department leadership. But his administration refused to release the surveys saying they were "privileged and unavailable for public inspection."
CBS News Colorado obtained a number of the survey responses, which expressed dissatisfaction with department leadership. Two months later, Mayor Johnston announced he was reappointing Fulton as chief.
One of the anonymous letters sent recently to firehouses said, "The timing of this vote is stupid. A new chief could easily bring lots of bogus decisions that would make our life difficult. Are we truly ready for a new boss?" the letter asked. "Lets not make things any worse for DFD."
Hynes said, "I think the firefighters are tired of being devalued, tired of not having any input and I think their input is they would like to see a change of administration."
