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Clear Creek County commissioners discuss replacing sheriff after his retirement

Sheriff Rick Albers announced his retirement last week, facing mounting criticism over his handling of the Christian Glass shooting.

GEORGETOWN, Colorado — Clear Creek County’s three elected commissioners met in executive session Tuesday morning for about an hour to discuss the county sheriff’s sudden retirement the previous week, and to discuss, with the county attorney, options for replacing the sheriff.

Last week, Sheriff Rick Albers announced his retirement from the department after 43 years of service. Albers sent county leaders a one-sentence e-mail informing them his last day would be Aug. 3. On Facebook, the sheriff said he made the decision with “mixed emotions.”

Albers had been criticized publicly by the county board a month earlier. In a statement, they accused him of not accepting adequate responsibility for his department’s role in the shooting death of Christian Glass last June and not moving fast enough to make change within the department. 

In interviews with 9NEWS after the statement, county commissioners Randy Wheelock and George Marlin told 9NEWS they wanted the sheriff to make changes or make way for someone else who would, but both stopped short of calling for the sheriff’s resignation.

Albers has not spoken publicly since his announcement last week and has not directly listed the pressure from county leaders in his reasoning for early retirement.

“We know that’s at least part of the case, and of course we know ours wasn’t the only criticism leveled,” board chair Randy Wheelock said. “I would say that I was not surprised. It’s a lot of pressure to be under.”

Albers was just elected to a new four-year term in November. Now the county board will likely select an interim sheriff to serve until the county’s next general election in 2024. Then voters will select an interim candidate to fill the rest of Albers' term, the county clerk told 9NEWS last week.

Wheelock told 9NEWS whoever succeeds Albers will have to focus on making change and earning back the trust of the community.

“I think it’ll take a lot of good diligence and thought, and good strategic action to make sure that that happens,” he said.

“Our intent is to ultimately put a process together and do the best process we can to make an appointment of a new sheriff to serve until the next general election in 2024," he said. "We don’t want to hurry that. We want to make sure we get it right.”

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