Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a comment from Jeff Wood’s attorney.
The city of Ouray fired its police chief today, citing a list of concerns about his behavior and leadership of the department, as well as violations of state law and poor work performance.
The termination comes after months of turmoil and public demand for Police Chief Jeff Wood to resign or for the city to terminate his employment. Wood had been on paid administrative leave since Jan. 29, pending the outcome of the criminal trial involving his stepson and two others for alleged sexual assault. The case involved an alleged rape in his home, while Wood slept upstairs.
It also comes after two internal investigations into the department stemming from three complaints about officer and supervisor conduct, the culture of the department, and lack of compliance with the department’s standards and state law.
The consultant hired by the city to conduct the investigations, Municipal Police Consultants, is also in the midst of a top-to-bottom audit of the police department to identify its shortcomings and strengths.
“I no longer trust you to comply with policy, let alone enforce it or lead by example, and I do not trust your judgment to lead the police department,” City Administrator Silas Clarke wrote in the termination letter.
Wood declined to comment and referred questions to his attorney, Reid Elkus, who emailed a comment saying Wood has never been terminated from any law enforcement position in almost three decades as an officer. “This is a shock and we are looking at every legal option,” he wrote.
THE FIRST COMPLAINT
The first complaint, filed Feb. 19, alleged officers used excessive force against a juvenile last year. An internal investigation cleared the officers of any wrongdoing, though Municipal Police Consultants owner Paul Schultz told Wood he was required to wear and activate a body camera in situations where he’s involved in enforcement or investigations.
The details of the allegations against at least two officers and Wood remain secret, due to the amount of redaction in the documents obtained from the city, which has claimed it cannot release details or the names of the involved adults due to the case involving a juvenile who had his records expunged after completing his diversion program. The Plaindealer has asked the city to reconsider the redactions.
THE SECOND COMPLAINT
The second complaint, filed April 18 by former Ouray Police Department evidence technician Jessica Tice, cited a host of concerns about the department and Wood, including accusations of unprofessional behavior, violating state law and failing to follow department policies. Tice resigned as a contract employee in September 2023, citing concerns about how the department investigated Ouray School janitor Tyler Smith, who was accused of taking photos of children at the school.
That case has not been resolved, and the investigation report cites numerous problems with how the case was handled by the Ouray Police Department as contributing to its lack of prosecution.
The investigation report details concerns about how the department handled the investigation – and failed to interview individuals related to the case, including a teacher at the school who first made the report. Sgt. Gary Ray’s lack of compliance with body camera activation, as required by state law, also was documented. Ray is currently the acting police chief.
The investigator also reviewed body cam footage from an interview with the janitor by Officer Casey Canfield. In this footage, Canfield “can be seen twirling a bullet between his fingers on his outstretched right arm” pointing toward Smith at the end of the interview. This could affect the admissibility of the interview in court, as it could be seen as an intimidation tactic.
THE THIRD COMPLAINT
The third complaint, which was made public for the first time today, was filed by Ryan Lindauer, a former employee of Sauvage Spectrum Wine Bar, who claimed Wood on two occasions in the summer of 2023 told her she was “beautiful.” Lindauer said one interaction occurred at the wine bar while she was working alone. She said the other interaction occurred at the police department when she was visiting with Tice. During that interaction, Lindauer said Wood told her he wanted to take her out to dinner “but I would have to explain to my wife why I was out to dinner with a pretty young blonde girl.”
It’s not clear when the complaint was filed because it was not dated.
Ouray Police Chief Jeff Wood, pictured in December 2019 after he was hired to lead the department.
Plaindealer file photo
DISCIPLINARY ACTION
The events leading up to his firing included a meeting between Wood and Clarke, and attorneys representing both of them, which occurred last week. This meeting, requested by Wood, was in response to a “notice of contemplated disciplinary action” the city sent to him on June 7, which included an invitation for the chief to request a meeting.
During the meeting on June 21, Clarke said Wood argued he was targeted by the internal investigation initiated after Tice’s complaint. He also said Wood argued he didn’t treat the case involving the Ouray School janitor cavalierly, and he argued he does not have to wear a body camera in compliance with state law. He also argued he has First Amendment protections for voicing his opinion while on duty that the Black Lives Matter movement is a “terrorist organization.”
DECAL INCIDENT
On top of the other concerns, Clarke detailed another incident which happened the same day as his meeting with Wood on June 21. This incident involved an obscene decal on Wood’s truck, depicting two stick figures having sex, with three other stick figures observing. Clarke received a photo of this and claimed it is a violation of the law enforcement code of ethics, which directs officers to keep their private lives unsullied and behave in a way that doesn’t bring discredit to themselves or the department.
“I learned that you displayed an image on the back window of your vehicle while you were parked on Main Street. You were observed sitting in your vehicle for a significant amount of time. Frankly, more time than seems reasonable and therefore leads to questions about your motives,” wrote Clarke.
“These photos show, at best for you, a horrible lack of judgment and, at worst, an intent to make a mockery of allegations of rape and a continued cavalier attitude as to sexual related offenses and your actions associated therewith,” Clarke wrote. He also claimed the sticker is a violation of the agreement for him to be on paid administrative leave, which required him to “refrain from making any statements to anyone regarding these criminal proceedings, or any tangential issues.”
Clarke told the Plaindealer a citizen took the photo on June 21 and sent it to him the same day.
TERMINATION
In the termination letter, Clarke refuted Wood’s claim that he’s been unfairly targeted. In fact, Clarke wrote, he has heard concerns from other residents who were unwilling to file formal complaints due to fear of retaliation.
“From what I could tell, if you had not placed members of the public in fear of reporting, the City may have received more complaints which needed investigation,” Clarke wrote in the letter.
The city released the investigation report on Monday, simultaneously with the letter firing the chief and the complaint involving Lindauer.
However, the Plaindealer filed a records request for the investigation report on May 31, and at the time, Clarke responded that the document “does not exist at this time,” and closed out the request. However, the investigation report from the consultant is dated May 30, the day before the open records request was filed by the Plaindealer.
When asked why the city didn’t release the investigation report until today, Clarke said he did not receive a copy of it until last week. He said he didn’t release the report until today because the city’s investigation into the complaint was not complete and he still had “personnel action to complete.”
Clarke said the city will enlist a consultant to conduct a national search for a new police chief. Wood’s annual salary was $133,912.
