Melvin Berghahn, a 15-year law enforcement veteran, was sworn in as Elizabeth's new police chief Jan. 15. Berghahn replaces Steve Hasler, who retired last month. Berghahn joined the Elizabeth Police Department in 2015 as a sergeant, and was promoted to commander in 2018. He has led the operations of the department for the past several years.

“The board of trustees is honored to appoint Cmdr. Melvin Berghahn as the new Elizabeth chief of police,” said Mayor Megan Vasquez. “He has made a positive impact in the community and I look forward to watching how the department will thrive and continue community policing under his direction. Thank you to Chief Berghahn and all of the Elizabeth police officers for putting their lives on the line every day to protect the place we all call home.”

Berghahn began his career in law enforcement nearly 16 years ago, after serving four years in the Army.

“I had wanted to be a career military person, but I found myself as a single dad,” said Berghahn. “I was recruited by the chief in Parachute, and decided to pursue law enforcement.”

Berghahn hails from New York, and arrived in Colorado in 1999, when he was stationed at Fort Carson with the Army. He liked the area, and attended Mesa State University before enrolling in the police academy in Delta. He currently lives in Parker, and said he doesn't miss the busy life of New York.

“Colorado is a great place,” said Berghahn. “I just don't miss New York. I got into this to help people, and we've done a lot of that here at the Elizabeth department. We've helped with food drives for church food banks, done fundraisers to help local people and we have the student academy that lets us interact with local youth.”

Berghahn said he hopes to make the department more efficient, and continue focusing on community involvement and community policing.

“I want to thank the people of Elizabeth for allowing me to be the chief here,” said Berghahn. “Their support and how they care about their department is amazing. I've worked in some other places in the state, and this town has a good connection with their police department. That's one of the reasons I'm happy to be in this position and keep pushing relationships.”

When Berghahn isn't serving the community he enjoys working out, doing volunteer work, bike riding and camping.