Denver’s executive director of public safety is leaving the city government to lead the Colorado Bureau of Investigation amid a statewide DNA scandal that has plagued the state’s crime laboratory.

Armando Saldate III — who was nominated by Mayor Michael Hancock in January 2022 and was picked again by Mayor Mike Johnston in November 2023 — officially stepped down from the department on Friday.

Saldate started his career as the top police recruit with the Phoenix Police Department in 1993. He eventually joined the Denver Sheriff Department as a senior investigator, and later served as a supervisor in its data science unit and as the civilian commander in the internal affairs bureau.

The Denver Gazette first reported the move on July 9, with Saldate set to take over the role of former CBI Director Chris Schaefer, who retired in May after 30 years.

Saldate, who begins at CBI on Monday, will oversee around 400 employees.

Schaefer officially retired from his position May 2. Schaefer’s retirement was always planned to fall on his 30-year anniversary with the bureau and had nothing to do with the problems plaguing the lab, according to a news release from CBI. 

An independent report on the Colorado Bureau of Investigation’s forensics lab offered a blistering assessment of the beleaguered office, whose past leaders failed to address allegations of misconduct and whose new ones were immediately plunged into the DNA crisis that exploded in the past two years and are still grappling with its aftermath.

In November 2023, the bureau acknowledged that a forensics scientist, Yvonne Woods, had skipped steps in her testing and mishandled and manipulated DNA evidence throughout her 29 years with the lab, potentially throwing into question past criminal cases.

After more than a year of reviewing her past work as part of an internal investigation, the agency said it had found 1,003 problems in the more than 10,780 cases Woods had worked on during her time at CBI — or roughly 1 in 10.

Woods, 64, was charged in January with 102 felonies, including 52 counts of forgery, 48 attempts to influence a public servant, one count of perjury and one count of cybercrime — the most serious charge.

The scandal has sent shockwaves across the Colorado justice system. 

For example, Michael Clark was released from prison on April 14 after more than 12 years. He had been serving a life sentence without parole for a first-degree murder charge he said he did not commit.

Boulder County District Judge Nancy Salomone vacated Clark’s first-degree murder conviction on April 11 after it was revealed the DNA evidence once used against him was now suspect.

Saldate will “carry out the CBI’s mission to be the state’s leading resource of exceptional law enforcement assistance to local, county and state criminal justice agencies,” the state lab said in a news release on Friday.

Department of Public Safety Chief of Staff Jeff Holliday will serve as Denver’s acting executive director as the city embarks on finding Saldate’s official replacement. 

Saldate’s salary in 2023 was around $211,000, with a potential raise up to more than $240,000 in the works.

CBI declined to release Saldate’s salary unless a records request is made.

“After spending a decade with this remarkable department, I can truly say that serving as Denver’s Executive Director of Public Safety has been one of the greatest privileges of my career,” Saldate said in the news release. “I’ve had the honor of working alongside passionate public safety staff who have faced immense challenges with strength and integrity, and I am most proud of their unwavering resilience.”

“We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Armando Saldate and our deepest thanks for his years of dedicated service to the city of Denver,” Johnston said. “Armando has led the Department of Public Safety with integrity, steady leadership, and a deep commitment to our community. His impact will be felt for years to come, and we wish him all the best in this next chapter.”

Saldate replaced interim director Rebecca Spiess, who had been in that role at CBI since Schaefer retired.

Denver Gazette reporter Jenny Deam contributed to this report.