Ouray City Administrator Michelle Metteer sought input from neighboring law enforcement agencies about how they conduct background checks — after she decided not to hire Daric Harvey as the permanent police chief because he objected to how deeply she wanted to dig into his personal life.
Public records show that after Harvey left the Ouray Police Department in December, Metteer also asked other city administrators in Colorado who contract with sheriff’s offices for police services for their feedback on those arrangements, even as many Ouray residents made it clear they prefer the city maintain an independent police department rather than utilize the Ouray County Sheriff’s Office.
Those are two of the most significant takeaways from a series of December and January text messages and emails the Plaindealer obtained using a Colorado Open Records Act request.
Those records also showed: • After Harvey’s departure, Ouray officers expressed concerns about a lack of training and mentorship while Harvey was the interim chief, prompting Metteer to seek additional help from the sheriff’s office.
• The police chief in the small northwest Colorado town of Hayden, where Harvey worked briefly in 2024, emailed Metteer and told her he ignored “several red flags” when he hired Harvey and regretted doing so.
• While a few residents encouraged Metteer and the council to consider having the sheriff’s office provide law enforcement services for the city long-term, the majority of citizens who texted and emailed city leaders in December and early January said they wanted the city to continue having its own police force. They also praised Harvey’s work and criticized Metteer for not hiring him.
The records offer insight into city leaders’ thinking as they began grappling with another round of upheaval within the police department, after Harvey was hired to rebuild it in the aftermath of the previous chief’s termination.
Administrator asked about background checks after chief decision Harvey, who served as Ouray’s interim police chief for nine months, appeared on track to get the permanent job as 2025 ended. A public meet-andgreet in October, held as part of the hiring process, elicited positive feedback from residents. Harvey signed a form on Dec. 2 that authorized the release of a trove of records as part of a background investigation the Durango Police Department was conducting on behalf of the city, a final step in the hiring process. Those records included medical, psychological, employment and financial records.
But Harvey balked at two details requested in the Durango questionnaire. He said he was concerned about providing information about all of his bank accounts and dates of birth and other personal information about his family, including two of his children, whom he said hold “highly sensitive positions” in the military. He also said he was worried about what would be done with the information and who would have access to it, and wasn’t satisfied with Metteer’s answer — that the information would be kept wherever the city attorney told her to keep it.
Metteer insisted on obtaining all of that data. When Harvey wouldn’t provide it, she rescinded a conditional offer of employment to him. His last day was Dec. 17.
It wasn’t until after the city and Harvey split that Metteer sought to find out how other law enforcement agencies handle background checks. She did so at the recommendation of Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Schiffer, in an apparent effort to bolster her decision.
As city officials prepared for a Jan. 12 work session to discuss the future of policing in Ouray, Schiffer asked Metteer to obtain background check requirements from surrounding jurisdictions and compare them to the city’s.
“I think there is a perception that Ouray’s requirements are exceptional and maybe even egregious,” he wrote in a Jan. 7 email. “If the city can show that we are similar or even identical to other jurisdictions, that will go a long way to show we are being prudent and there are not ulterior motives at play.”
Within minutes, Metteer forwarded Schiffer’s email to leaders with the Ouray County Sheriff’s Office, Ridgway Marshal’s Office and Durango and Montrose police departments.
“I’m not looking for any personal information, just if the same standards are followed and if you also require information for certain relatives or co-inhabitants,” she wrote to each of them. “It has been stated by Daric Harvey that the background check being conducted on him was above and beyond what should be asked.”
The Montrose and Durango police departments and Ouray Sheriff’s Office responded that they do similar checks. The Ridgway marshal said he relies on discretion and considers each hire on a case-by-case basis.
“You can back the agency into a corner by setting a standard that leaves you little room for hiring,” Ridgway Marshal Shane Schmalz wrote in a Jan. 8 email.
Colorado law requires some sort of background check to be included in hiring for law enforcement but grants wide latitude to the individual agencies to determine what those look like.
The state’s Peace Officer Standards and Training agency manual includes hiring standards, sometimes referred to as “Rule 29.” Those leave discretion to the individual agencies and say “each agency should complete a comprehensive agency background investigation, which may include” checks on criminal records, employment history, driving records, credit records, citizenship, personal history statements, and relatives or personal references. Agencies may also conduct a polygraph test, or use “any other investigative measures that the agency finds appropriate.”
Administrator sought opinions on contracting police services The same day she asked neighboring police agencies about their background checks, Metteer sent an email to a list of managers seeking input from other towns and cities that contract with sheriff’s offices for law enforcement services.
She received responses from managers in three municipalities who offered mostly positive reviews – Nederland, Superior and Castle Pines.
In particular, Castle Pines City Manager Michael Penny said the city of 17,500 has contracted with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office since 2009 and uses a dedicated property tax for law enforcement. He called it a positive experience overall.
“Having had law enforcement under the city and now this — I can tell you that there are a lot fewer internal (read as HR and liability) headaches!” Penny wrote.
Metteer’s request for information from other municipal managers in Colorado came two days after several constituents criticized her decision not to retain Harvey and urged the city to maintain an independent police department, during a council meeting on Jan. 5. They reiterated that opinion during the Jan. 12 work
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Metteer herself has previous experience using a neighboring agency for policing in her position as the town manager for Minturn, which has law enforcement provided by the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office. She did not supervise a law enforcement department in her previous job.
Former employer, officers expressed concerns about Harvey Three days after Harvey’s last day working for the city, Metteer received an email from Hayden Police Chief Scott Scurlock.
“I know you know this, but you made the right decision to insist upon a full background check on him,” Scurlock wrote on Dec. 20, referring to Harvey. “I ignored several red flags when I hired Daric, later regretting the decision.”
Contacted by the Plaindealer, Scurlock declined to elaborate, saying he could not comment on personnel matters. He said Harvey worked for the Hayden Police Department between April and June 2024 before resigning.
Harvey told the Plaindealer on Tuesday he took the sergeant job in Hayden to keep his police officer certification while also running a ranch in the area. He said he quickly ran into issues with Scurlock. He said those issues centered on conflict over Scurlock’s expectations involving Harvey training other officers, implementing crime analytics and improving report writing.
“It became pretty clear that it wasn’t working out for either one of us, truthfully,” Harvey said. “It wasn’t a place where I felt valued or appreciated. The things I was being asked to do, when I started doing them, it upset Scott.”
Harvey said he didn’t list his tenure in Hayden on his resume because it was for only a couple of months, and because he didn’t serve in an executive-level position there.
Metteer also fielded concerns from Ouray officers who claimed they did not receive enough training under Harvey.
Officer Bryce Phillips, who resigned from the department at the end of January, wrote in his resignation letter that “the training structure and operational model of the position were not the best fit for my continued professional development.”
“In particular the absence of a formal Field Training Officer (FTO) program and limited access to structured mentorship made it difficult to progress at a pace and depth consistent with my professional standards and long-term career goals in law enforcement,” Phillips wrote in the letter.
As part of his exit interview, Phillips wrote a second letter on Jan. 26 in which he expounded on his concerns about a lack of training and supervision and detailed incidents in which Harvey directed him to respond to calls for service, despite the fact that Harvey was the on-call officer and Phillips wasn’t scheduled to work.
When he was hired in July, Phillips said Harvey told him he would receive structured field training consisting of four weeks of training, followed by four weeks each with the Ridgway Marshal’s Office and Ouray County Sheriff’s Office. But on his second day of work, he said he was “thrown to the wolves” and started responding to calls for service immediately.
“I was advised that guidance would be provided after calls were completed. In practice, post-call guidance was limited, and Chief Harvey was frequently unavailable,” Phillips wrote.
He described an incident in October 2025 in which Harvey directed him to respond to an early-morning accident, even though Harvey was the on-call officer and Phillips was not scheduled to work. He claimed Harvey gave him conflicting instructions, initially asking him to continue covering calls for service until late in the afternoon that day but later telling him he should have gone home earlier to rest.
Phillips claimed in the weeks before Harvey left the department that the chief changed his own work schedule so that Phillips was the only officer on duty or on call for a period that extended beyond 24 hours.
“The practices outlined above resulted in repeated periods where a single officer was responsible for call response within the City without consistent supervisory presence, formal on-call designation, or documented training progression,” Phillips wrote in his letter.
A month before Phillips resigned, Metteer wrote an email to Ouray County Undersheriff Tammy Stroup on Dec. 29 asking to talk about the sheriff’s office providing increased law enforcement coverage in the city.
She said although Harvey repeatedly assured her he thoroughly trained each member of the police department, she said officers told her otherwise.
“Given that two of our three department members are very newly out of the academy, I want to ensure that the city does everything we can to ensure the safety of the community while providing the greatest opportunity for the success of our employees — and having shifts covered by the city whereby these new officers are left (effectively) on their own concerns me,” she wrote.
Metteer said she understood having sheriff’s deputies pick up more patrol shifts in Ouray would cost the city more money, “but the safety of the community, surrounding agencies and our staff would be worth the discussion.”
A week later, the Ouray City Council adopted a new intergovernmental agreement with the county enlisting the sheriff’s office’s help. Phillips left at the end of January. In early February, Metteer pulled Sgt. Matt Troxell and Officer Angel Dominguez off of patrol duty and reassigned them to administrative tasks, citing concerns about liability and insufficient training. Dominguez resigned days later, and went to work for the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office. Troxell remains on desk duty, and declined to tell the Plaindealer what his current duties entail.
Harvey told the Plaindealer in February he did his best to train the three officers who worked for him while he rebuilt the police department. He acknowledged all of them could have received better training, which is why he asked for help from the sheriff’s office and the Ridgway Marshal’s Office. Harvey also noted Troxell worked for other, larger law enforcement agencies for 16 years, including nine years with the CIA as a special agent and instructor, and he had no concerns about his ability to do the job.
Residents backed independent police department, Harvey City leaders received several texts and emails from residents in the wake of Harvey’s departure.
Ouray resident Cindy Carothers encouraged Metteer to explore contracting with the sheriff’s office, at least on a temporary basis, saying such an arrangement worked well when she lived in Evergreen.
“My opinion is that people are confusing supporting Daric Harvey and the actual need for a police department,” Carothers wrote on Jan. 8. “I do like Daric and at the same time would love to see Ouray evaluating on a trial period the prominent use of the sheriff department.”
Other residents who contacted the city felt differently.
Ouray resident Dan Hughes wrote to councilors on Dec. 18 that he had an “exemplary” experience with Harvey. He said Harvey’s professionalism and responsiveness helped resolve ongoing violations from a neighboring short-term rental.
Hughes said Harvey and his department had implemented a community policing model that Ouray had lacked for many years.
“I am highly skeptical that any outside candidate will be able to match the standard of leadership and community trust he has established,” Hughes wrote.
Councilor Peggy Lindsey responded that she, too, liked Harvey but that the city could not hire a police chief without a thorough background check, given problems with the previous chief, Jeff Wood.
Residents Kelly and Josh Leggett wrote an email to Metteer saying the background check seemed unnecessary and excessive given the prior background checks Harvey had completed.
“It seems he tried in good faith to make it work, but the same does not seem true from the city’s side,” they wrote. “I fear that with this outcome and the continued turmoil with the Ouray Police, future candidates will not be as qualified, suited or plentiful for the position, and that we have lost someone who would have done the job very well — and who had been doing very well under difficult circumstances.”
Resident Dolgio Nergui, who works as an information technology technician, wrote to Metteer on Dec. 18 and said the city requiring Harvey to provide personal identifying information about his family was a “significant privacy concern.” That same morning, she texted Councilor Jenny Hart and said Metteer’s insistence on collecting the dates of birth of Harvey’s relatives “is insane and probably illegal.”
“Imagine that you were living your life not knowing that your ex somewhere applies for a job and has to provide personal info about you!” Nergui wrote.
Hart also received a text message from resident Amy Exstrum, who said she and her husband, Brian, thought Metteer was making a mistake by not hiring Harvey as the permanent chief.
“We can see right through her request for an extensive background check, one that is much more than is normally needed,” Exstrum wrote. “We have felt for quite some time she wanted to get rid of him, and this is just the way she is going to do it.”
Co-publisher Erin McIntyre contributed to this report.
