Daniel Trechter of Manhattan, Kansas was selected as Georgetown police marshal in August. After just a couple of weeks on the job, he penned a letter of resignation to Police Judge Lynette Kelsey and members of the Board of Selectmen.
“It is with an extremely heavy and tortured heart that I tender this letter of resignation as your chief of police effective immediately,” reads the opening of the letter from Trechter. “I came into this position optimistic and wide-eyed with an open mind, heart, soul, and spirit. Unfortunately, over the last week my ‘dream come true’ became a nightmare.”
In his 1,000-word resignation dated Oct. 12, Trechter described “significant failures in leadership at the town administrator level.”
Trechter’s resignation forecast a coming storm of an administrative exodus in November.
In November, the Georgetown Board of Selectmen accepted the resignations of Town Administrator Rick Keuroglian and Town Treasurer Mary Sims, who had been in the position for 23 years. Town Clerk Jennifer Yobski quit shortly thereafter.
“It became an unhappy, unhealthy place to be,” Sims said in a Dec. 11 interview with the Courant about the job she loved for decades. Sims declined to go into specifics as to why she stepped down.
In the letter of resignation, Trechter said board members informed him of the challenges of the marshal position he was taking over when accepting the job and the “ghosts of the past” such as Christian Glass that he would be subject to scrutiny for his predecessors.
During his initial job interview, Trechter said the Board of Selectmen made the environment of hostility toward local police clear.
“I was told we needed to rebuild the Georgetown Police Department, especially given the recent history regarding the Christian Glass incident, settlement and pending criminal charges,” he said.
Glass died on the night of June 10-11, 2022 when he was stranded in his car near Silver Plume. He had called 911 for help, saying he was trapped, and when officers arrived, they asked Glass to leave his car. He refused in what turned into a long standoff that ended when officers broke Glass’ car window and used a Taser on him. Former Clear Creek Sheriff Deputy Andrew Buen shot Glass five times, killing him, according to an indictment.
Buen is charged with 2nd-degree murder in the case and trial is set for February of 2025.
Despite the responsibility of reshaping a town police department, Trechter said in his letter that he received no support from and to the detriment of the town.
“Your city administrator (Rick Keuroglian) and city treasurer (Mary Sims) see it differently and have blocked or seriously stifled every attempt I have made to spend even basic amounts of money,” Trechter wrote.
Sims told the Courant she had very little interaction with Trechter other than budget items for 2025 and points the blame for the “debacle” at Keuroglian.
“The problem was Rick throwing employees under the bus, playing employees against each other and it wouldn’t stop,” Sims said in an interview Dec. 20.
“I was told by the city administrator (Keuroglian) that my budget should be the ‘bare minimum’; ‘The police department just isn’t a priority’ when answering a question regarding budgeting,” Trechter’s notice reads.
The Courant reached out to every member of the Georgetown Board of Selectmen, Keuoglian, and Treachter for comment on this story.
Amanda Cooper from Ward 1 in Georgetown is the only member who responded, saying there’s very little she can reveal.
“I’m just trying to avoid commenting on a personnel matter that wouldn’t be ethical for me to comment on,” Cooper said.
Trechter said he would prefer his letter speak for itself in a conversation with the Courant.
In the complete absence of local law enforcement, Georgetown has turned to the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office for assistance.
On Dec. 10, Clear Creek County Commissioners and the county sheriff’s office signed an Intergovernmental Agreement with Georgetown to provide county deputies for town law enforcement.
Under the agreement, the initial level of service patrols will be three days a week for a total of 18 hours per week. The town will pay the overtime rate for deputies on patrol of between $55 to $60 per hour.
The county sheriff’s office will provide equipment, personnel and vehicles associated with the services and will invoice the town on a monthly basis, according to the agreement.
During an unexpected Dec. 7 interview with Kelsey, who is now acting as town administrator, Kelsey confirmed, “The town is currently negotiating a contract with a potential new town administrator and is working to fill the town clerk and treasurer positions.”
Kelsey said details surrounding the public exodus are elusive.
“Unfortunately, it’s very closely tied to personnel issues that I can’t give lots of details on. You know, sometimes you get those perfect storm kinds of waves,” Kelsey said.
In an ominous conclusion to his resignation Trechter writes: “I write a small sample of these things not to offend, accuse, demean, demoralize, etc. but as an ethical obligation to let you know your city administrator is failing you.”