New CBI director seeks to change culture after multiple controversies

LAKEWOOD, Colo. — Following a tumultuous few years that saw multiple controversies, new Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director Armando Saldate III hopes to rebuild the culture in the department and increase accountability among staff.

He sat down with Denver7 Investigates on Wednesday for his first interview since accepting the position and leaving his previous job as director of public safety for the City of Denver.

“It’s just not by me coming here that’s going change. Really it’s a culture change really it’s a change of accountability and transparency. What I think I heard and what I saw was that there was a culture where folks weren’t being heard,” Saldate said. “And when folks aren’t being heard that’s usually the symptom of a bad culture. What I hope to do and what I hope to bring to this organization, how I hope to change that culture, is by being present.”

• WATCH | In his first interview as the new director of Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Denver7 chief investigative reporter Tony Kovaleski asks Armando Saldate about cultural issues in the agency uncovered by Denver7. Watch the full interview in the video player below:

Denver7 Investigates presses new CBI director on the bureau’s culture problem in his first interview on the job

Saldate was sworn in last month as the 12th director in CBI history. He succeeded embattled Director Chris Schaefer, who retired in May. During his tenure, the department was at the center of multiple scandals, including criminal charges against forensic scientist Yvonne “Missy” Woods,” who is accused of tampering with evidence for years on the job.

Woods is facing more than 100 criminal charges in Jefferson County and her alleged actions have cost the state millions of dollars, helped create a backlog of evidence examinations and thrown multiple criminal cases into disarray.

On Woods, Saldate said that the scandal has left a “mark” on the agency, one that he hopes to fix.

“I acknowledge that we did not meet the mark in the Missy Woods scandal,” he said. “You know, it did leave a mark and we have some repairs to do with our stakeholders, prosecutors, the public.”

Saldate also inherited a culture that had been called into question after multiple Denver7 Investigates reports sparked by insiders accusing Schaefer of giving preferential treatment to an agent.

Those insiders noted the relationship between Schaefer and Agent Doug Pearson, who was the subject of an internal investigation last year after he was captured on his body-worn camera using a racial slur while on a phone call in his car.

Sources alleged that Pearson received leniency and preferential treatment during the investigation because he was a long-time friend of Schaefer. CBI later revealed that Pearson had to attend racial sensitivity training and a pending promotion was canceled.

“Anyone who makes the profession look bad, I think we all feel it,” Saldate said. “You know, I didn’t need to be in CBI to feel the effects of that.”

Subsequent stories also revealed that CBI only sent letters to district attorneys throughout the state, alerting them that Pearson could have a credibility issue if called to testify after Denver7 Investigates’ first story aired, roughly five months after the internal investigation in Pearson concluded. Pearson was later reassigned to the Colorado Information Analysis Center.

• Chief investigative reporter discusses his interview with Saldate in the video player below

Chief investigative reporter Tony Kovaleski recounts interview with new CBI director

Denver7 Investigates asked Saldate about Pearson’s future with the department under his leadership. He declined to address his specific plans, but did say he would hold all staff accountable for their actions in the future.

“I can’t rewrite history. Decisions were made back then, I wasn’t here for,” Saldate said. “I can hold folks accountable to their decisions that they’re making under my leadership. And I will hold folks accountable. No matter what position they hold, whether it’s a sworn position, whether it’s a leadership position or a professional staff position, everyone will be held to that same level of accountability.”

CBI also brought in a third party late last year to conduct an internal review of the Pearson investigation and other claims that were made against Schaefer. The review said allegations against Schaefer were unfounded and that there was no wrongdoing. CBI also changed its policy on internal investigations.

Saldate led Denver’s Public Safety Department from 2022 until accepting the CBI top job and said it was a “gut-wrenching decision” to leave his job with the city.

Denver7