ELIZABETH, Colo. — A 2022 document recently obtained by 9NEWS shows that Elizabeth's town administrator recommended the termination of now-former Police Chief Melvin Berghahn before his resignation in December of that year.
After leaving the Elizabeth Police Department, Berghahn applied to become Edgewater Police's commander and did not disclose on his application that Elizabeth intended to fire him, records show.
Berghahn was promoted to Elizabeth's police chief in January 2021. The town announced his resignation in December 2022.
In summer 2023, a 9NEWS investigative producer requested public records from Elizabeth that included Berghahn's disciplinary history. The town denied the request. Then it sued 9NEWS to try to keep the records secret. Invoices, obtained from a public records request, show Elizabeth spent more than $11,000 suing 9NEWS.
About nine months later, in March, a judge ordered the town to release a memo. It was a "Notice of Intent" to terminate Berghahn, dated Dec. 1, 2022, and written by Elizabeth town administrator Patrick Davidson.
"In my capacity as the Town Administrator, I am unwilling to recommend to the Board of Trustees that the Town take the risk of keeping you as Chief of Police," the memo reads.
Davidson wrote that he planned to fire Berghahn for three reasons. The first was for "roughhousing," which was explained as hitting an employee "on more than one occasion ... with objects in the groin area."
The town will not explain why Berghahn resigned rather than being fired.
Berghahn then applied to become the Edgewater Police Department's commander — a job he now holds. Under work history, the application asks "Reason for Leaving."
"Lack of job stability/support that created work life imbalance," Berghahn wrote.
Edgewater Police Chief Eric Sonstegard declined an interview request when asked whether he knew Elizabeth intended to fire Berghahn. He provided a statement by email.
"We were aware that Commander Berghahn’s relationship with the 4th Town Manager during his tenure as the Elizabeth police chief had soured near the end of 2022," Sonstegard wrote in the email. "We conducted a background investigation and there was no formal discipline or investigation to review. I had extensive conversations with him about these matters prior to his hiring with the City of Edgewater and was and still am confident in his abilities to serve our community. I don’t have any further comments on this matter."
Berghahn received a job offer from Edgewater Police on April 28, 2023. The city offered him a starting salary of $122,500. On May 22, 2023, Berghahn signed a settlement agreement with Elizabeth that included the town paying him $12,500.
When 9NEWS contacted Berghahn, he responded by email: "Thank you for reaching out. I received your email and voicemail message. I’m not inclined to comment on anything related to my tenure in the Town of Elizabeth. I am excited to be part of the leadership team in Edgewater."
Davidson, Elizabeth town administrator, declined an interview request. In an email, he explained why the town sued after denying the 9NEWS record request.
"Because these records were part of Mr. Berghahn's personnel file, which are of a personal nature and maintained because of his relationship with the Town, the Town was concerned it could not release the information without a Court Order. Absent a Court Order, the Town would have been open to a claim by its former police chief that disclosure of the document violated Mr. Berghahn’s liberty interest in his name, reputation, and integrity. Thus, the Town needed a Court to determine the public interest outweighed Mr. Berghahn’s privacy interests," Davidson wrote in an email.
"A memo like this that outlines why a Police Chief is not running his department in the proper way, is something that a community is entitled to know," Jeff Roberts, executive director of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, told 9NEWS.
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