ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. — A former Adams County undersheriff who retired from the department after being placed on administrative leave amid an investigation in 2022 pleaded to forgery charges Friday in Denver District Court.
According to the Colorado Attorney General's Office, Thomas McLallen pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree forgery and one count of first-degree official misconduct. Both are misdemeanors.
The charges relate to his role in carrying out a scheme to falsify records and claim credit for state-mandated law enforcement training that he did not complete.
>The video above is a prior report about the case.
McLallen was sentenced to 24 months of supervised probation, and he must write a letter of apology to the men and women of the Adams County Sheriff’s Office. As part of a plea agreement, the attorney general's office said, McLallen must relinquish his state peace officer certification and will no longer be eligible to serve as a peace officer in Colorado.
He'll also cooperate with prosecutors and be available to testify in any co-defendant cases, the AG's office said.
McLallen signed various training rosters for classes he did not attend and submitted training certificates to Colorado Peace Officer Standards and Training, also known as POST, to count these fictitious trainings toward his 2021 mandatory annual training hours. Without counting the fraudulent trainings, McLallen did not have the hours needed to meet his in-service training requirements for 2021.
Colorado peace officers are required to complete a minimum of 24 hours of annual in-service training, including at least 12 hours of perishable skills training in arrest control, driving and firearms. A law enforcement agency can lose access to POST grant funds if it is found to be out of compliance with POST training rules due to their officers failing to complete required annual training.
Former Adams County Sheriff Richard Reigenborn and former Division Chief Michael Bethel also face charges in the training records scheme. Both are charged with felony counts of forgery, attempt to influence a public servant, conspiracy to commit forgery and conspiracy to attempt to influence a public servant. Their cases are pending in Denver District Court.
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