Denver Police Department Reassignments Underway

DENVER (CBS4) - A shakeup at the top levels of the Denver Police Department began Monday as Denver Police Chief Robert White summoned more than a dozen of his top commanders to his office for one-on-one discussions about a command level reorganization.

CBS4 first reported the impending changes last Thursday.

"Nothing is official," said Cmdr. Matt Murray, a spokesman for Chief White.

Murray said a transfer list will likely be released this week with a summary of new assignments that he said would be "consistent" with White's vision for the department.

White met with the command group then conducted individual meetings with some of his top administrators. One commander confirmed to CBS4 that White told him he was going to be "reassigned" into a lesser, yet-to-be determined role with the department.

In a podcast this month, White said, "I believe in life change is inevitable. Change is tough." He said we "need to rattle the cage a little bit ... we need to just kind of renew the energy and keep the energy level up." He said sweeping changes would be "in the best interest of the department."

Several lieutenants are expected to be promoted to the commander rank while some commanders are expected to lose their positions.

"That could be," said Murray, who declined to discuss Monday's changes saying he was not in the one-on-one meetings.

CBS4 Investigator Brian Maass has been with the station more than 30 years uncovering waste, fraud and corruption. Follow him on Twitter @Briancbs4.