While formal fanfare has died down a bit since Mayor Bach swore in eight from the CSPD, the pride they feel about helping people in the Colorado Springs community continues to grow.
In their own words, here are a few comments from some of those public safety leaders. If you support them, then please share this post and thank them for their service when you see them at work.
Q: Can you tell us how you feel about your work and the impact of your recent promotion?
“I am very excited to be afforded this opportunity. It is a real honor and I must give credit to the fine people that I work for, the people I work with, and those that work for me. They are the ones that helped me get here. I will be staying at the Gold Hill Division and I have already begun to establish strong working relationships with a variety of community members. There is a real passion about the quality of life in the neighborhoods that the Gold Hill Division services and I hope to be a part of making it an even better place to live by ensuring that public safety needs are met. I understand that the Colorado Springs Police Department is very reliant on the strong support we receive from the citizens in the community. I want to continue to build this support and trust. I am a native of Colorado Springs and I can’t imagine a better place to live!” –Commander Pat Rigdon
“I am extremely excited to serve in my new capacity as a lieutenant for the Colorado Springs Police Department. Even though I have taken on a new rank one of my main goals is to remember I am a public servant first and foremost. I received excellent advice in the past regarding leadership decisions: Take care of your people but remember the needs of our community come before the needs of our department, the needs of our department come before the needs of our unit and the needs of our unit come before our individual needs. I plan on following this advice to the best of my ability.” –Lieutenant Hugh M. Velasquez
“As a Deputy Chief on the Colorado Springs Police Department, I look forward to serving our community as well as the men and women on our Department. I hope I can make thoughtful and informed decisions that will positively impact our employees. I will continue to support our mission of providing police services with integrity and with the spirit of excellence, in partnership with our community, to promote the quality of life in Colorado Springs. I will diligently work toward fulfilling our vision statement of ‘Safeguarding our Community as our Family.’ We all look forward to the bright future we have with Chief Carey and Mayor Bach.” –Deputy Chief Vince Niski
“I am truly honored to be able to continue to serve our community in my new capacity. I look forward to learning the new responsibilities associated with my position while still being able to work with officers on the street. Having been fortunate to work for some truly great leaders on our department, I hope that I can come close to being able to lead as they have. We live in a great city and a great area and I hope to do my part to keep it as safe as possible.” –Sergeant Rick Bubacz
