Police officer: ‘I am leaving Colorado for … less communism’
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AURORA, Colorado (KCNC) — An Aurora police officer, Daniel Bertelson, sent a department-wide email this month as he announced his retirement, offering some barbs and harsh assessments of the current climate for law enforcement.
“I am leaving Colorado for palm trees and less communism,” wrote Bertelson, who spent 16 years with the Aurora Police Department.
“Try to ignore the politicians and media,” he wrote to his colleagues. “They know nothing of this profession or honor; they’re self-serving con artists, well-dressed pimps and prostitutes at best.”
The number of officers leaving APD has been increasing in recent years, jumping more than 60% from 2019 to 2020. That comes as the city is also seeing rising crime rates, a trend seen in other Colorado cities and across the country.
Bertelson wrote that he had been honored to serve as an Aurora officer and thanked his colleagues for their advice, kind words, support and friendship.
“As the war against police rages on in an environment where you can literally do no right,
I pray for the safety, success and happiness of each of you.”
Bertelson — who is assigned to the investigative support section — will officially leave the department June 1, according to a public information officer.
“Never forget,” wrote Bertelson, “you are all capable of incredible things in and out of law enforcement, never lose faith in yourself.”
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