DENVER — The search for a new director for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is down to one name.
Multiple sources have confirmed to Denver7 Investigates that Denver Department of Public Safety Executive Director Armando Saldate III is the sole finalist for the top job at CBI and has accepted a conditional offer, pending a background check.
Saldate will succeed newly retired and embattled director Chris Schaefer, who served as director from 2023 until his retirement in May.
Denver7 Investigates
Third-party review found no wrongdoing by CBI director | Denver7 Investigates
Schaefer’s tenure as director was marked by multiple controversies, most notably involving a forensic scientist, Yvonne “Missy” Woods, who is facing more than 100 felony charges related to mishandling DNA samples involving more than 1,000 cases.
Woods is still going through the legal proceedings, but the situation, first reported in late 2023, has cost the state millions of dollars and thrown numerous criminal cases into disarray.
One person, Michael Clark, has already been released from prison after his 2012 conviction for a 1994 murder was overturned because of Woods’ flawed DNA testing.
Also during Schaefer’s tenure, Denver7 Investigates reported in October 2024 on an agent that was caught using a racial slur during a phone call after he had mistakenly turned on his body-worn camera the previous February.
Multiple CBI employees reached out to Denver7 Investigates, outraged that the agent, Doug Pearson, appeared to receive preferential treatment during the investigative process after the video was discovered. Pearson was known to be a close friend and business partner of Schaefer.
Following that report, CBI sent letters to district attorneys across the state, notifying them that Pearson may have a credibility issue if called to testify. Those letters were sent nearly six months after the conclusion of the internal investigation into Pearson, despite state statute stating the notification should be “prompt.”
Pearson was later reassigned to the Colorado Information Analysis Center.
CBI hired an outside firm to conduct an internal review of the Pearson Investigation and other claims made against Schaefer. While the review said the claims against Schaefer were unsustained, he announced his retirement at the same time the review was released.
Rebecca Spiess has been serving as interim director since Schaefer retired.
Saldate has served as the head of the Denver Department of Public Safety since February 2022 when he was appointed by then-Mayor Michael Hancock and confirmed by Denver City Council.
Regarding Wednesday's update, a spokesperson from Denver's Department of Public Safety stated in an email: "Executive Director Saldate has accepted a conditional offer for a position with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Given that he has not yet completed the background investigation process for the final offer, we do not have any information on his last day or a formal public announcement at this time."
According to his biography on the City of Denver’s website, he started his career with the Phoenix Police Department and later was deputized as a special agent and U.S. Marshal with the FBI’s Phoenix Division.
He retired from Phoenix Police in 2014, relocating to Denver and became a senior investigator with the Denver Sheriff Department. Later, he supervised the department’s Data Science Unit.
Shortly after taking his post as director public safety in Denver, Saldate told Denver7 Investigates that changes were needed after months of reporting on the response times of Denver Health ambulances. In his role, Saldate oversaw the Denver Fire Department.
Denver7 Investigates’ reports highlighted that Denver firefighters were complaining about lengthy response times from Denver Health paramedics that sometimes saw firefighters waiting at a scene for up to 30 minutes.
