Pueblo County approves additional $20K for sheriff legal fees in lawsuit against union
Leaders with different unions around Pueblo held a silent protest during the Pueblo County Commissioners meeting on Feb. 25, 2025, outside of the Pueblo County Government Building. (Courtesy of Brad Riccillo)
The Pueblo Board of County Commissioners approved an additional $20,000 to go toward legal fees for the local sheriff in a lawsuit he filed against the union representing his deputies.
Pueblo Sheriff David Lucero, a Democrat, filed a lawsuit in December that argues a county sheriff is not included under Colorado's statutory definition of a county, as sheriff is its own elected constitutional office. The 2022 Colorado law granting collective bargaining rights to government employees in many counties therefore does not apply to his office, Lucero argued.
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment rejected that argument once in an administrative proceeding and again after Lucero appealed, ruling that he must bargain with members of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers Local 837, the state-recognized union for Pueblo Sheriff's Office employees.
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Pueblo County had already allocated $25,000 for outside counsel for Lucero, meaning that with its Feb. 25 decision to provide more money the county has approved a total of $45,000 to back the sheriff's lawsuit. In a statement, Lucero said he appreciates the board's support.
'This is something that affects all the Sheriffs, not just Pueblo County,' Lucero said in a statement. 'I have never been anti-union, but there are holes in this legislation and questions that need to be answered, and I'm hoping the courts can answer those questions.'
On Feb. 18, the Colorado attorney general's office filed a partial motion to dismiss Lucero's lawsuit, arguing the court does not have the jurisdiction to determine whether the law applies to the sheriff's office and deferred to the Colorado Administrative Procedures Act.
Lucero filed the lawsuit in Denver District Court, where Judge Andrew McCallin is overseeing the case. The next step is for the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment to file a response to the initial complaint.
Brad Riccillo, president of the IBPO Local 837, said he's encouraged that the attorney general 'continues to stand up for workers and workers rights, and they're pretty committed to defending this law.' He said several unions from around the county participated in a 'silent protest' outside of the county commissioner meeting when they voted to approve the additional $20,000 in legal fees.
Lucero said the protest had 'a lack of support,' which he said didn't surprise him given 'their declining membership and false narratives about me suing my deputies.'
In that meeting, commissioners voted 2-1 in favor of additional funding, with Commissioner Miles Lucero, a Democrat with no relation to the sheriff, voting against the measure.
I knew that this was going to be difficult, but I never thought I would get this much pushback ... I never thought I would have the sheriff name my union in a lawsuit. I never thought two out of three county commissioners who were 'law enforcement-friendly and supporters' would be so hell bent to see us fail.
– Brad Riccillo, president of the IBPO Local 837
Both Republican commissioners, Paula McPheeters and Zach Swearingen, argued that the board needs to support their county sheriff and that the lawsuit will help provide clarity on how the law applies to sheriffs.
'In the end, public safety is the focus here. Not squabbles between the union and what they believe their role should be,' McPheeters said. 'I want clarification so we can move on and do the work of the county. This is to me a distraction, it's created division in the sheriff's department, and I would just like to see it resolved so that we can move on. There is a union, they can negotiate, but there needs to be some understanding and the only way we get it is legally.'
Miles Lucero said he agrees with the need to support the sheriff in defending against unfair labor practices, but that's not what the $20,000 the board approved is for, since the sheriff pursued the lawsuit.
'If I thought the sheriff was on the defensive and he needed our financial support, that's a different story,' Miles Lucero said. 'That's not the case for this particular matter.'
Some testified to commissioners that the union continuously filing unfair labor practice complaints leads to more county time and money spent fighting those complaints.
'The way that I feel about that is if you continue to break the law, we're going to continue to hold you accountable for it,' Riccillo said.
Riccillo said he's 'been personally attacked' at the county commissioner meetings by non-union members and other staff at the sheriff's office.
Jesus Burgos, a deputy sheriff, testified that he's supportive of the sheriff and that any job is 'what you make it,' and anyone unhappy in their position needs to 'look at what you're doing, not only what your employer is doing.' He said the union is 'trying to bully.'
'Personally I would like to see the union thrive, but I don't believe it's going to happen fairly or ethically until there's different people running it, in my opinion,' Burgos said.
Despite the ongoing legal battle, Riccillo said the union and the sheriff's office have made progress in the bargaining process. He said they've temporarily agreed on about half of the articles needed to finalize a contract.
Riccillo said leading the union through the bargaining and legal processes has been the 'hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life.'
'I knew that this was going to be difficult, but I never thought I would get this much pushback,' he said. 'I never thought I would have the sheriff name my union in a lawsuit. I never thought two out of three county commissioners who were 'law enforcement-friendly and supporters' would be so hell bent to see us fail.'
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