Craig Press: More questions than answers remain following an open records request to city officials in late August which sought to understand the reasons for the forced retirement of former Chief of Police Walt Vanatta.

However, the correspondence did shed some light on who led the decision and the timeline in which it unfolded.

The request sought all emails and text messages exchanged between Craig City Manager Mike Foreman and members of Craig City Council between June 1 and Aug. 15 pertaining to Vanatta and the police chief position. The writings are public records and subject to the Colorado Open Records Act.

Vanatta’s retirement in early August came on the heels of controversial budget cuts driven by city leadership that resulted in a restructuring of the police department. The news of his retirement took the department, the community and Vanatta, himself, by surprise.

In response to questions about the change in leadership, Foreman said he wanted “to change directions and philosophies for the police department,” but neither he nor council members offered any further details or explanations at the time.

Vanatta said he was told by Foreman that council had “lost confidence in me as police chief and wanted to go in a different direction.”

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