With a new station on the way and a new chief in the door, the Evans Police Department is ready for a transformation.
Randall Darlin, 56, began as Evans’ new chief of police on July 14 after spending the past four years as a deputy chief in Northglenn. Prior to that, Darlin spent nearly three decades in Chicago, rising steadily through the ranks of the Windy City’s police department.
“I wanted this to be very transformational,” Evans City Manager Cody Sims said. “There’s been plenty that needed to be changed within the organization, within the culture of the police department, and I firmly believe Chief Darlin has the skills and experience to be able to be that transformational change for us.”
Darlin replaces longtime Chief Rick Brandt, who retired after serving nearly 18 years in the role.
Darlin started with the Chicago Police Department in 1993 and steadily rose through the ranks. He was promoted to sergeant in 2003, lieutenant in 2009, captain in 2015, commander in 2017 and deputy chief in 2020.
But he always had his sights set higher.
“My goal for a long time in my law enforcement career — probably since I was promoted to the position of lieutenant — was to try and become a chief of police for a community,” Darlin said.
When the position in Evans opened up, it was a natural fit.
“I looked at the opportunity, and I looked at fit. It’s a really good fit,” Darlin said. “A lot of the values that are integral in the community are the same type of values that I bring forward in my leadership style.”
One of those values is accountability — to the department, to the community and to policing as a whole.
“It has a lot to do with transparency. They want to see behind the curtain and see, what does the police department look like when there’s an allegation or a complaint? What’s the outcome?” he said. “So shining that light and letting the community see transparently how we operate is one great way to work through these concerns.”
Another tenet Darlin brings with him is community engagement. Community policing was a department focus when he was in Chicago, but Darlin said it is much easier to forge meaningful relationships in a community of 20,000 than in a city of 2.7 million.
“The outreach was extensive, but it was more effective on a smaller scale in a city like Northglenn,” Darlin said. “I believe that it will be even more effective on even a smaller scale in a city like Evans, because those outreach strategies, that constant communication working with the community.”
Darlin’s time in Chicago may be a standout on his resume, but it his time in Northglenn uniquely prepared him for his newest role. With a population of 28,000 and surrounded by the larger communities in the Denver metro area, Northglenn is in a position not unlike Evans.
“Thornton borders Northglenn. There’s 150,000 people in Thornton. Westminster is just to the north, and there’s 120,000 people in Westminster,” Darlin said. “So we saw plenty of transient crime throughout those communities as well.”
That relationship between Evans and Greeley was front and center in Sims’ mind when he was searching for the next chief.
“I was very interested in chiefs with bigger city experience because I felt with our type of crime, our frequency of crime and our location, I felt like having that larger city experience would prove beneficial to us,” he said.
Typically, Sims would have had to look much further for someone who spent as much time in such a large city. But luckily for him, Darlin had moved just down the road only a few years ago.
After 28 years in Chicago — quite literally, as Darlin said he was only away from the city for two months out of the nearly three decades — Darlin retired as a deputy chief in 2021 and accepted the same position in Northglenn.
Evans Police Chief Randall Darling works on his computer Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025 at the Evans Police Department, 1100 37th St. (Chris Bolin/Staff Reporter)Another thing that stood out to Sims was that Darlin had something no other candidate did: a law degree. While serving as a captain and later commander with the Chicago Police Department, Darlin attended law school at the University of Illinois Chicago from 2015 to 2019.
“It gives you a really good view of problem-solving and how you analyze and argue,” Darlin said. “Having the legal background just provides me with a really strong understanding and a great foundation, so that as problems come in, I can look at it from a myriad of directions and work through the solution systematically.”
And though he’s been on the job less than a month, early returns on Darlin have come back positive. Darlin admits he’s been “drinking from a fire hose” getting familiarized with everyone and everything, but Sims has been thrilled with what he’s seen so far.
“Immediately, it’s been jumping into policy, taking a look and identifying, ‘What needs to be fixed? What are the critical things that need to be fixed now to put the police department on a more productive path forward?’ ” Sims said.
New station update
Demolition began this week at the future site of a new 30,000-square-foot police station just south of the current station, housed in the Evans Community Complex, 1100 37th St.
There is no defined timeline for when the station is expected to be complete, city staff said. The department can be reached at 970-339-2441.
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