Police Officer

City of Leadville, CO
City of Leadville

Reports To:

Police Sergeant

Compensation:

The Police Officer position is a full-time position and requires a minimum of 86 hours per two-week pay period including possible overtime, evenings and nights. The pay range is $61,560 – $90,422.

Full-Time Benefits:

The following benefits are offered to all full-time employees:

  • PTO Accrual (available immediately as accrued)
  • Health insurance, vision, and dental
  • 457 Retirement with city match up to 6% (eligible after 6 months of continuous employment).
  • Access to robust Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
  • 15 paid holidays annually, include 1 floating holiday
  • City-paid CO FAMLI premiums

Job Definition:

Police Officers exercise a high degree of discretion, trust, and confidence performing skilled police work. The Police Officer duties include police patrol, criminal investigations, enforcement of traffic laws and regulations, related criminal law enforcement activities, and a wide variety of community services. Police Officers work in partnership with the community to identify and resolve issues, to provide public safety to the community, and to maintain peace, safety, and order. Police Officers must exercise considerable judgment, initiative, and skill in a variety of situations and must be able to act without direct supervision in completing work. This position requires employees to work in highly stressful, emergency situations where injury or death of individuals might occur.

This job description is an overview and is intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all the functions and tasks required of the position.

Essential Duties:

The following duties are not intended to serve as a comprehensive list of all duties performed by this position. The duties below are intended to provide a representative summary of the major duties and responsibilities.

  • Perform proactive police patrol functions, respond to calls for service, enforce laws, maintain order, prevent crime, enforce traffic laws and direct traffic and provide miscellaneous service to assist the public;
  • Enforce statutes, codes and laws in a manner that is reasonable, fair and devoid of bias of any kind;
  • Investigate crimes, gather evidence, interview people, issue citations, make arrests, prepare reports and cases for prosecution, and testify in court;
  • Conduct investigations of criminal activity consistent with statutory requirements, best-practices and departmental policies and procedures;
  • Conduct searches of individuals, structures and vehicles in a manner that meets constitutional requirements;
  • Handle and process evidence according to department policy and in accordance with statutory requirements;
  • Operate police vehicles responsibly and in a manner that reflects positively on the department;
  • Utilize firearms in a manner consistent with safe practices, department policy, state statutes, federal law and the United States Constitution;
  • Utilize weaponless defense techniques in a manner that is reasonable, just and constitutional;
  • Interact with members of the community and the department in a manner that is professional, fair and without bias;
  • Treat members of the community and co-workers with dignity, respect and in a manner that reflects positively on the agency;
  • Communicate verbally and in writing clearly and concisely;
  • Report to work on-time, with the required equipment and dressed appropriately for the assignment in a manner that reflects positively on the department;
  • Work on a computer for word processing, report submissions, sending and receiving emails, and data entry.

Additional Duties:

  • Animal control;
  • Community liaison;
  • Perform related work and support for the city’s Police Department as required;

Supervision Exercised:

No supervisory responsibilities.

Independence of Action:

Work is performed in accordance with legal requirements, standard practices and methods requiring initiative to complete recurring assignments independently and judgment to determine which of many methods are applicable in any given situation.

Communication/Working Relationships:

Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to effectively communicate and interact with all levels of the city, outside agencies, and the general public in a positive and cooperative manner. Maintain strong working relationships with the community, city staff, local, state and federal partners and other outside agencies.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

  • Knowledge of applicable city, county, state, and federal statutes, regulations, ordinances, and codes;
  • Knowledge of department policies, practices, techniques, and methods required to perform duties;
  • Knowledge of the principles and practices of law enforcement;
  • Knowledge of appropriate self-defense techniques;
  • Accurate sense of directions and the ability to travel from one location to another using a map;
  • Knowledge of basic grammar and writing skills;
  • Superior customer service principles and skills;
  • A keen sense of observation and ability to analyze situations quickly;
  • Ability to use de-escalation strategies to handle sensitive or stressful situations with tact and diplomacy;
  • Knowledge of traffic laws to safely operate a motor vehicle;
  • Knowledge of basic mathematic calculations to include addition and subtraction;
  • Moral standards and a high degree of integrity;
  • Emotional intelligence to all types of situations including stressful situations;
  • Ability to work independently, pay close attention to detail, and manage multiple reports, documents, and deadlines effectively;
  • Innovative, collaborative, organized, and self-motivated;
  • Ability to properly operate or use: computer (Google, Microsoft Office software), telephone, copier, calculator, audio and video recording devices, and other digital equipment;
  • Ability to respond effectively to sensitive matters or complaints and provide excellent community service;
  • Ability to maintain the confidentiality of sensitive matters;
  • Ability to problem-solve;
  • Ability to work on several projects or issues simultaneously;
  • Ability to work independently or in a team environment as needed;
  • Ability to attend government meetings that may take place after normal business hours.
  • Current CPR certification.

Qualifications:

Minimum Education: High School diploma or GED required. An Associates or Bachelor’s degree is preferred but is not required. Colorado Police Officer Standards and Training (POST) certification is preferred.

Language Skills: Ability to read, write and speak English fluently. Ability to respond to employees, customers, regulatory agencies or authorities, or members of the local business community. Pay differential for officer with bilingual Spanish speaking skills.

  • Be a U.S. citizen and 21 years of age at time of application
  • Possess a valid, unrestricted driver’s license at time of application and date of hire
  • Not have been convicted of the following:
    • A felony crime
    • A misdemeanor crime of domestic violence
    • A misdemeanor crime that would affect ability to certify with the Colorado Police Officer Standards and Training (POST) Board
  • See Colorado POST website Disqualifying Incidents/Criminal History for a list of misdemeanor convictions which may affect an individual’s certification ability. https://post.colorado.gov/disqualifying-incidents

Candidates with prior military service in the armed forces must provide, as an attachment to their application, their DD-214 which must not reflect “Character of Service as Dishonorable or Bad Conduct” discharge.

Drug usage, as described below, may be cause for disqualification:

  • Any use of marijuana within one (1) year prior to the date of application
  • Any use of any illegal drugs (i.e., heroin, cocaine, LSD, amphetamines, steroids, or other illegal drug as defined in schedules I through V of Section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act) within five (5) years prior to the date of application

Candidates must be willing to submit to a comprehensive background check to include a polygraph. Candidates must also pass a post conditional offer drug screen, psychological evaluation, and medical examination.

Special Conditions of Employment:

Work is regularly performed outdoors and occasionally indoors with frequent exposure to extreme temperatures and all-weather conditions. Work is performed year-round with occasional exposure to cold/wet/humid conditions, loud noise, heavy traffic, and all types of hazardous situations, including threatening people, communicable diseases, hazardous materials, chemicals, etc. Due to the nature of this position, periods of high activity and stress in emergency situations will exist, often after extended periods of sedentary activity, under demanding conditions, along with the handling of dangerous or hostile individuals.

Individual will work 10 or 12-hour varied shifts and will be subject to working nights, weekends, holidays, and mandatory overtime when necessary.

The successful candidate(s) for this position must be:

  • Willing to work any shift, weekends, holidays, and mandatory overtime;
  • Able to successfully complete a written examination that is overseen by POST once internal training is received;
  • Psychological evaluation, and medical examination;
  • Able to meet all state and department standard training requirements
  • In good physical condition, able to make a forceful arrest, and meet medical standards as established by the Leadville Police Department;
  • Able to meet attendance and punctuality standards as established by the Leadville Police Department and the City of Leadville.

All Police Officer candidates must successfully pass a physical ability examination and a written examination.

All required licenses and certifications listed above must be maintained throughout the term of employment. Failure to obtain or maintain licenses and certifications in addition to keeping the required knowledge, skills, and abilities listed for this position may result in demotion or termination.

Due to Federal and State Criminal Justice System access requirements, classifications that access and maintain criminal justice information may also be required, as a condition of employment, to not have been convicted of and/or have pending charges of a felony or misdemeanor crime that would deny or otherwise restrict access to criminal justice information.

Lateral Transfers:

Candidates with qualifying experience and Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) certification may be eligible for a higher entry rate of pay and an abbreviated field training process. Eligible experience will be that of a state, county, or municipal law enforcement officer with power of arrest with a minimum of one years of patrol experience (after graduation from a Police Academy) and Colorado POST Certification. Such eligibility will be determined by the Leadville Police Chief or his/her designee as part of the employment offer process. Qualified candidates may be eligible to receive up to pay Step 6 of the salary schedule, depending on years of qualifying experience.

Physical Demands and Work Environment:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an officer to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an officer encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.

  • Ability to show upper body and core body muscular endurance to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise assist incapacitated individuals of approximately 150 pounds (for 18 ft. distance), handle other items, defend oneself, take evasive action, and control suspects;
  • Occasional balancing (1 ft. in height 11 feet), bending, climbing (4 ft. high), crawling (4-6 feet), kneeling, reaching, squatting, standing, and twisting;
  • Ability to demonstrate explosive leg strength (jumping vertically at least 18 inches);
  • Ability to show cardiorespiratory and sprinting ability on uneven terrain, up and down stairs, and under various conditions to perform essential functions in the community;
  • Prolonged sitting while driving a patrol vehicle and the ability to sit for long periods of time for preparing reports;
  • Frequent use of visual and auditory acuity for a broad continuum of essential activities including but not limited to detecting hazards, recognizing vehicles and people, reading documents, searching for evidence, and hearing and understanding speech;
  • Hear and distinguish between multiple levels of sounds, frequencies, tones, and tones of voice;
  • Speak clearly with good diction and appropriate volume level;
  • Clear vision and the ability to distinguish between various colors;
  • Frequent light and firm grasp hand manipulation and handling needed for keyboarding, weapons handling, vehicle operations to include radio operations, and other normal police duties;
  • Frequent stepping up/down to get in and out of vehicles, trenches, and foundations.

The job description does not constitute an employment agreement between the employer and employee and is subject to change by the employer as the needs of the employer and requirements of the job change.

For additional information and/or questions regarding this position, please contact the City of Leadville Director of Human Resources, Paige Vigil, at pvigil@leadville-co.gov or (719) 656-0198. If interested in applying, please email a resume and cover letter to pvigil@leadville-co.gov.