Boulder, Colorado’s city manager has announced that interim police chief Stephen Redfearn had been promoted to serve as the city’s chief.

Redfearn has been a member of the Boulder Police Department for three years and has served as interim chief since January 2024.

“I have watched Steve take on the challenges that face his profession with heart, strategic thinking and a clear understanding that policing needs to change,” City Manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde said, “and I believe he is uniquely positioned as our next chief. Steve understands the importance of establishing deep relationships with the community we all serve, and I am confident he will both lean into the promise of Reimagine Policing and make it a reality.”

Redfearn joined the Boulder Police Department as deputy chief in 2021, after 25 years in Colorado law enforcement.

Redfearn said he is excited by the opportunity to continue to lead the department and pledged to continue to engage with the community and the city’s Police Oversight Panel to solve problems and build trust.

“I am honored to be able to lead the talented officers and employees of the Boulder Police Department as we work collaboratively and pro-actively with our community to make policing equitable and effective in its core mission. We often think about our role ‘to protect and serve,’ but we also have an opportunity and an obligation to prevent harm,” Redfearn said. “We’ll do this through a re-evaluation of our policies, best-practices training, a focus on employee well-being, and absolutely, a renewed commitment to engaging with community. That is what policing is about.”