RTD selects Steve Martingano as Chief of Police and Emergency Management

Martingano brings three decades of policing experience to the role, including 10 years at RTD

The Regional Transportation District (RTD) has selected Steve Martingano as the agency’s Chief of Police and Emergency Management. Martingano will officially assume the role on Tuesday, May 13, following a swearing-in ceremony at Denver Union Station. Until that time, he will continue to serve as RTD’s Acting Chief of Police and Emergency Management, a role he’s held since July 2024.

“Having Steve’s continued dedication and commitment at RTD is a big win for the agency’s employees and customers,” General Manager and CEO Debra A. Johnson said. “He is permanently assuming the role at a time when the agency is doubling down on its efforts to create a Welcoming Transit Environment and gaining a lot of ground. His decades of experience and leadership will ensure the agency can continue to enhance personal safety and security across RTD’s entire service area.”

Martingano joined RTD in 2015 as a commander and was promoted to deputy chief in 2017. During his time at the agency, he has worked to modernize RTD’s police deployment and response model by introducing sector policing. Martingano also pioneered the first mental health co-responder unit in transit policing, a program that was later expanded to include unhoused outreach coordinators. These efforts led him to co-found the National Transportation Vulnerable Populations Working Group, and he is a subject-matter expert for American Public Transportation Association (APTA) peer review panels focused on policing and security.

“I am deeply honored to have been selected for this important role at the Regional Transportation District,” Martingano said. “I promise to lead with integrity and transparency while fostering accountability and building trust. I am committed to serving all members of the community in support of RTD’s efforts to grow its police department and be recognized as the premier law enforcement agency in the metro area.”

Martingano was named RTD’s Acting Co-Chief of Police and Emergency Management in July 2024, and subsequently assumed sole responsibility for the department in February. Under his leadership, RTD has implemented a four-step action plan focused on visibility, customer education, fare enforcement, and technology. In March, RTD announced a 50% year-over-year reduction in security-related calls for service across its service area, as well as an increase in fare enforcement on the rail system. The agency also announced last week a 60% reduction in calls at Denver Union Station following a three-year focus on the intermodal transit facility. To reinforce community safety, Steve has been on the forefront of expanding RTD’s police department from five officers three years ago to nearly 100 sworn officers today.

Steve holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from St. John’s University, is a graduate of the FBI National Academy Session 287, and will receive a master’s degree in public safety from the University of Virginia next month. Steve began his law enforcement career in 1992 as a police cadet in New York City, and he served as a police officer at the 104 precinct in Queens, NY.