I obtained my Colorado POST certificate in January of 1981, from the Colorado Springs Police Department Training Academy. I worked as a patrol officer, sex crimes detective, and homicide detective. In 1997, I graduated from the University of Denver College of law with a Juris Doctorate degree. My first job as an attorney was prosecuting cases in Pueblo County for the District Attorney's Office. I prosecuted all types of criminal cases from misdemeanor domestic violence and DUI’s to sexual assaults and homicides. In 2005, I moved to the El Paso County District Attorney's Office where I continued prosecuting the same types of cases. With El Paso County I was responsible for reviewing Officer Involved Shootings. I was the Senior Deputy District Attorney responsible for supervising other Deputy District Attorneys as well as my own caseload. Primarily prosecuting homicide cases. Since 2011, I made sure that all new Deputy District Attorneys participated in the El Paso County Sheriff's Office shoot no-shoot course so they would gain insight into police use of force.