“Can I get a new pair of pants? Can I get my training records?” said Peni Barnes, Executive Assistant to Estes Park Police Department Chief Ian Stewart, echoing the types of requests she handles for the EPPD staff, which consists of approximately 42 individuals, including 23 sworn officers and volunteers.
Barnes is the unassuming workhorse of the department, a jack-of-all-trades. When she first joined the staff in 2004, she was a temporary administrative assistant, but just a month later, she became the permanent records technician. A year or two after that, she was promoted to her current role, a position that she has held for most of her 21 years of service.
In June, Barnes was awarded Professional Staff Member of the Year by the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police. “This award truly validates the tremendous impact Peni has made on our community, something we’ve already known and appreciated,” said Stewart.
Her role encompasses more than just fielding requests, purchasing, or vetting invoices. She creates IDs for all Town employees and serves as both the Town’s CPR instructor and the Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate trainer. ALICE is a technique designed to enhance survivability in active shooter situations.
Barnes keeps track of training for all the sworn and volunteer officers. To maintain their certification, officers must complete 24 hours of training, 12 of which must be in imperishable skills, including critical thinking and sound judgment, effective communication, ethics, community awareness, problem-solving, adaptability, flexibility, and teamwork.
The remaining required training, which includes perishable skills, encompasses arrest control, driving, and firearms. Beyond what is required, “they have hundreds of hours in training, both in-house and out,” Barnes said.
Barnes is also responsible for coordinating the police chief’s annual charity golf tournament, currently in its 35th year in Estes Park. This year’s tournament will benefit the Estes Valley Crisis Advocates. The tournament was canceled last year because of the Alexander Fire, she said. The tournament will take place in August, and currently, 22 teams, comprising chiefs and command staff from around the state, are enrolled to participate.
One of her favorite duties includes covering for the Town’s finance department when they are short-staffed and working on the budget. “The budget is kind of like my favorite and my least favorite,” said Barnes, explaining that putting together the numbers includes many factors such as the previous year’s budget, the availability of funding, and expenses that are predicted to come through.
“I love setting up emergency communications centers,” Barnes said, explaining that one of her most challenging situations took place in 2020 during the Cameron Peak and East Troublesome fires, where she was performing COVID protocols by checking everyone’s temperatures. “There was one Excel gentleman, a very tall, big guy, who said no,” she remembered. “And I said, ‘You can’t enter.’ I was told to throw him out. So, I started walking back there. Then I was joined by law enforcement.”
She worked as a court clerk for the Superior Court of California before moving to Estes Park, where she began working for the Stanley Hotel. After about two months, she was offered the temporary position that marked the beginning of her long career with the EPPD. She has two children who were raised in Estes Park, and about two months ago, she became a grandmother.
“We at the EPPD are incredibly proud of Peni Barnes for receiving this recognition from CACP,” Stewart said.