Denver RTD launches detective bureau within transit police department
The Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD) Transit Police Department (RTD-PD) has launched its own internal detective bureau, a first for the agency. The new detective bureau will pursue investigations for criminal activities that occur on Denver RTD property across jurisdictions in the agency’s district.
On Jan. 6, the Denver RTD-PD internally promoted Transit Police Officers Fabian Rodriguez to detective lieutenant and Brian Beary to detective on its force. Rodriguez has served as an officer for 27 years, with most of his career at the Adams County Sherriff’s Office, where he supervised general investigations and the North Metro Drug Task Force. Rodriguez's career includes working with federal organizations such as the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Agency. Beary has served in law enforcement for 18 years. Prior to joining RTD-PD, he was a criminal investigator for the Colorado Department of Revenue for six years.
A third detective, Craig Tangeman, joined the force on Jan. 21. Tangeman has worked in law enforcement for over 26 years, with 19 years dedicated to investigative operations for Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office. He has conducted federal and state investigations and managed over 200 police officers, federal agents and volunteers as part of proactive investigative operations. Tangeman is experienced in conducting major case investigations, having been assigned to the Metro Gang Task Force, the Safe Streets Fugitive Unit and the Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.
The agency’s detective bureau is led by RTD-PD Commander Brian Cousineau, who has worked for the department for almost two years. In Cousineau’s 28 years working in law enforcement, 14 have been dedicated to supervisory and investigative functions, including working on narcotics task forces, supervising detectives and overseeing investigations ranging from high-level misdemeanors to homicide crimes and internal affairs.
The in-house detective bureau will enable Denver RTD to directly perform investigations on thefts and any other criminal activity that may occur on its property.
“We want people to utilize our services and feel safe doing so,” Cousineau said, while also noting the new bureau will help Denver RTD pursue prosecuting personal crimes, involving any threat or use of force and includes felony-level narcotics violations across the agency’s system or property.
Denver RTD notes that as bureau protocols are established for working with the eight counties in the agency’s district, the department will be able to file its own cases and carry out investigations on related cases that occur in different municipalities. As an example, Cousineau pointed to last year’s copper wire thefts from Denver RTD tracks.
“If a copper wire theft happens in Aurora on our property and the wire was valued at $900, that’s a misdemeanor crime; we would hand it over to the Aurora Police Department. Let’s say the same $900 copper wire theft then happened a week later in Thornton and then a week later at Lakewood. The benefit of having our own detective bureau is that we can assign our detectives to all those cases. “This changes the crime from being a misdemeanor to a felony-level crime,” Cousineau said.
The Denver RTD-PD had aimed to establish a fully functioning detective bureau to file criminal cases in jurisdictions throughout its service area even prior to the copper wire thefts in 2024. Cousineau noted the thefts “were definitely a catalyst for us to get the bureau established more quickly.” .
Denver RTD notes that as detective lieutenant for the Denver RTD-PD, Rodriguez aims “to have a self-sustaining detective division with a priority to establish relationships with law enforcement in surrounding agencies and district attorneys’ offices.” He notes the agency is establishing a system where everyone works together for a safe and welcoming transit environment.
Beary added, "A top priority is to build relationships with other law enforcement agencies to allow RTD-PD to file its own cases as soon as possible.”
Denver RTD says that its transit police department has been relying on its collaborative partnerships with other police agencies for criminal investigations. The agency added the new bureau will enable its transit police to directly investigate cases that occur on Denver RTD property and offset reliance on outside agencies that may be experiencing time and resource constraints.
Cousineau says he anticipates the Denver RTD-PD detective bureau will be fully operational by the end of the second quarter in 2025.
“One of the biggest lifts that we have is to get with all eight counties to file cases to each of their expectations. This will also include establishing secure systems for e-filing and setting up protocols for writing probable cause affidavits,” Cousineau said.
The agency notes it has budgeted to add two more detectives to the department later in 2025. The Denver RTD-PD is also in the process of developing an evidence room to follow the proper chain of custody to hold evidence needed to prosecute cases. According to Denver RTD, once established, this will mitigate reliance on other police agencies to retain evidence needed to prosecute criminal activity that occurred on agency property.
Denver RTD-PD says the launch of its detective bureau is a part of its welcoming transit environment strategic initiative, which aims to grow the agency’s workforce to enable it to better support community and employee safety. Denver RTD notes the PD force stands at approximately 90 officers currently and began 2025 with recruits in the police academy. The agency has budgeted for 150 sworn officers in 2025.
