Denver RTD Transit Police Department enters formal working partnership with BNSF Railway Police
In December, the Denver Regional Transit District’s (RTD) Transit Police Department (PD) entered a formal working partnership with BNSF Railway Police, enabling Denver RTD’s officers to access BNSF property to enforce grade crossing and trespassing laws through arrest, citation or other lawful means.
Denver RTD says the letter of authorization provides a framework for the two entities to share information, gain access to properties and respond to incidents. According to BSNF Railway Deputy Chief Jeff Matthews, it is critical for both police departments to work together, given their properties parallel each other through a large portion of the Denver metro region.
“With the cooperation of [Denver] RTD Police and Railway Police, the ultimate goal is providing a safe environment for everybody,” Matthews said. “It doesn’t really matter if it’s passenger rail or freight; we are all intertwined.”
BNSF, one of the largest railroad networks in North America, has a police department that includes five officers in Colorado, three of whom are in Denver. Denver RTD notes its growing police department has dozens of officers. Cooperation between the two, Matthews noted, enables greater police response.
According to Denver RTD Transit Police Sgt. Alicia Valerio, the agreement moved forward recently after Denver RTD PD Officers Rob Sobek and Justin Sanders crossed paths in recent months with a BNSF police officer on a service check.
“And then it was brought to my attention that we had nothing in place that we would communicate with one another,” Valerio said.
Matthews added that while the agencies shared some incident-specific information prior to December, it was not happening in a regular, uniform manner. A meeting with Matthews followed, and a letter of authorization was signed shortly thereafter.
“[This document] allows officers from [Denver] RTD to enforce any criminal activity on their [BNSF] property, in which our properties run side by side. If we're contacting someone on one side, and the individual happens to run over or vice versa, we as two different agencies can come together and tackle that and not worry about the logistics of, whose jurisdiction is this?” Valerio said.
Denver RTD notes both leaders outlined several instances in which cooperative policing can prove beneficial to their departments. On the day last week when Valerio discussed the partnership, she mentioned to Denver RTD that two officers on her team were at 41st Fox Station on the B and G lines because of information BNSF provided about an encampment there. According to Valerio, the photographs BNSF emailed “gave us the information that we needed. Now I have officers out there working on that campsite throughout this week. With the notices being served, we can call maintenance to get it cleaned up, and we are also prepared to hand out resources if people are willing to accept them, as far as shelter and mental health support.”
According to Valerio, working closely with other police agencies is crucial for an agency like Denver RTD PD, which operates in all or part of eight counties. She says sharing information leads to better resolution of issues and better enables staff to be deployed in places with known needs. She notes the agreement illustrates that Transit Police is moving in the right direction.
