City welcomes new deputy chief of police

On July 10, Frank Rodriguez took his oath of office as the new Deputy Chief of Police for the City of Gunnison.

The chief deputy position is a new role within the Gunnison Police Department. Rodriguez will work alongside Chief Sam Costello, supporting internal leadership, improving officer resources and driving community engagement.

“In 30 years, I have had a lot of external exposure to police executives from all over the nation,” Costello said. “I would put five, out of thousands that I’ve met, into the category of being supremely qualified — and as soon as I met Frank, his level of competency was off the charts. He suits a city like Gunnison perfectly, and his skills are just over the top.”

The Times sat down with Rodriguez to talk about the career path that led him to Gunnison and his philosophy on community-oriented law enforcement.

(Editor’s note: The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.)

Tell me a little about your background and what brought you to Gunnison.

I always tell people I was an obstreperous child, raised by a single mom in East Oakland. When I graduated high school, my mom said, ‘Mijo, I love you, but I can’t afford to send you to college, and you can’t stay home.’ Those were hard words to hear, but even harder words to say — I love my mom; she’s my hero.

So I joined the military. I needed it as much as it needed me. It gave me purpose and taught me the meaning of selfless service. Before that, those were just words to me. But once I was in, I fit perfectly.

I started as an enlisted E1 and spent eight years in that role before becoming an officer. I studied pre-med in college, thinking I’d be a doctor, but 9/11 changed everything. I went back in special operations and deployed to Afghanistan and later Iraq. I was away from my family for about 10 years. 

I won’t talk about the horrors of war, but the experience shaped how I view humanity. I’ve seen the best and the worst. After 24 years of service and eight deployments, I earned my bachelor’s in pre-med and a master’s in international relations. When my wife asked what I wanted to do next, I told her, ‘Be a cop and coach football.’ She laughed, but that’s exactly what I did.

I went in as a regular patrol deputy for a sheriff's office in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and coached football for 11-13 year olds. I coached because I was raised by a single mom, and my dads were surrogate fathers, coaches and teachers. So it was my opportunity to give back. 

I did that for five years, and then ended up in the sheriff's office. The Sheriff asked me to be the sergeant of the SWAT team, so I did. And then the Sheriff asked me to be a detective sergeant, so I did. And then one day, the Sheriff asked me to be his undersheriff. We ended up losing the election, which was difficult for me, because he was such a man of character.

So from there, I ended up going to the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, and I met a man named Blaine Hall. I landed a job investigating fraud for the state of North Carolina. I loved where we lived, and thought it was a great job. But my wife thought the kids would never come back to North Carolina. We decided to move somewhere they’d come to visit. 

I started looking for jobs in the Rocky Mountains, and then Blaine Hall called, and asked if I was interested in being a small-town police chief in Olathe, Colorado. So I came to Olathe and absolutely loved it. Out of nowhere, a well-known community member then asked me to be the county manager for Montrose County. 

While I was still chief in Olathe, I met (Gunnison City Manager) Amanda Wilson — one of the most amazing leaders I’ve ever worked with. At the same time, the Gunnison police chief job opened, and I was impressed by both her and the Gunnison community. I actually applied for both the county manager and Gunnison chief jobs. I ended up getting the Montrose County job, so I withdrew from the Gunnison application.

What drew me here was the leadership, but also the culture. I’ve learned that culture eats strategy for lunch. You can have the best leader in the world, but if the culture isn’t ready, it doesn’t matter. Gunnison is different — you’ve got a strong city manager, a great chief, a great council and a community that genuinely cares. There’s a synergy here — a culture of excellence. That’s what brought me here, and I’m honored to be part of it.

What is your philosophy of law enforcement?

Law enforcement, for me, is the opportunity to make a difference in someone's life at their worst time. Nobody calls 911 on their best days — and to be able to insert yourself in that role and make a difference in their lives is huge.

My philosophy is to engage with the community as much as possible. It is completely centered around relationships — so the community understands what we're doing, how we're doing it and why we're doing it. There is, in my view, nothing that happens within the police department that the community members are not welcome to know, unless we're bound by legal statutes or authorities. We will do our part to make sure that our officers are out of the vehicles and they're engaging with everybody at all levels. Being a first generation Mexican American, I'm sensitive to the Hispanic community, and to make sure that I am approachable.

In a time when Hispanic communities may feel hesitant to trust law enforcement, how do you hope to build those relationships?

I have a great relationship with the Hispanic affairs project. The biggest concern in the Hispanic community is ICE. Our messaging is super important, because we have to be careful not to create a paradox. That paradox is, the Hispanic community is scared of law enforcement, so therefore won't engage with law enforcement when crime happens. 

During the first Trump administration I was a SWAT team commander that partnered with ICE. I’ve shared with the Hispanic community that we were going after the worst of the worst, like cartel members and violent criminals that no community would welcome. So we need to communicate that if ICE shows up in Gunnison, they are going after violent criminals with a history of violence or drug dealing. 

As far as building those relationships, we are constantly having calls with one another, talking to one another, asking the tough questions, and then having those difficult conversations. Instead of saying we're transparent, let's just be transparent.

When not in uniform, how do you like to spend your time?

I'm very family oriented, and we have a ranch, so I love being outdoors. I spend a lot of time outdoors on our ranch with my horses and cows. It's funny, going from growing up in the city of Oakland, to now wearing cowboy hats, boots and blue jeans and branding cows. I spend a lot of my time on the ranch, but there's not a community event that I will not miss.

(Alex McCrindle can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or alex@gunnisontimes.com.)