Getting to Know John Feyen: Candidate for Larimer County Sheriff in 2022

Jonson Kuhn | North Forty News

Meet John Feyen: he’s running for Larimer County Sheriff and with as long as he’s been serving the community throughout his various positions, (of which there have been many) there’s a pretty good chance you might have already met him. Originally from a small farming community in Iowa, John moved to Kansas City, MO. in 1987 where he soon met his wife while serving as a paramedic. Four years later, they moved to Larimer County (primarily for family) where they both continued serving as paramedics/firefighters for the citizens of Loveland, Berthoud, and the Big Thompson Canyon.

In 2000, John joined the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO), where his first two years were spent serving in the Estes Valley as a patrol deputy. Shortly thereafter, he moved into investigations as a Crimes Against Persons investigator and it was within this role that he soon discovered his passion for helping child victims. Through this passion and dedication, he was eventually promoted to sergeant, and then lieutenant, leading the day-to-day operations of the LCSO Investigations Division.

One of the things that sets John apart from others who have served in town or city police is his vast invaluable experiences.  For instance, he led evacuations in Rist Canyon, Poudre Canyon, and Redstone Canyon during the 2012 High Park Fire and served as Law Command on numerous occasions, as well.  John once again led evacuations during the 2013 flood and later was on the first helicopter into Pinewood Springs to provide community support. He also led a FEMA Rescue Team into Waltonia Canyon to assist in rescue efforts for those stranded by the flood.

John was gracious enough to sit down recently with North Forty to answer a few questions about his candidacy and why he feels he’s the best person for the job.

NORTH FORTY: With all of the many positions you’ve held, why now is running for sheriff so important to you?

JOHN FEYEN: This is something Sheriff Smith and I have talked about for years and I’m very blessed that he has given me his endorsement along with former Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderen’s as well; people I think get into this idea of running for a couple of reasons, one is that they may think the current person is doing it wrong and they want to fix it, so there’s a new trajectory they’re taking. Or two, there’s a tradition of excellence and service, yeah things could be changed, I’m certainly not going to be Justin Jr. but I’m certainly more the latter than I am the former[…]I love the agency and I’ve worked in every corner of this community from Estes to Berthoud to Wellington and every place in between. I feel I’m the most experienced and best prepared to continue that service to the community and lead the agency into the next twelve years.

NORTH FORTY: Between you and the other candidate running for sheriff, Jeff Fisher, protecting Constitutional rights seems to be key, so (with respect to Mr. Fisher), can you speak a little bit about how you see your approach to the idea of protecting Constitutional rights differing from his?

JOHN FEYEN: My opponent talks about being your only constitutional sheriff, well, I think that can be a little misleading because I, too, am going to protect your constitutional rights; everyone, regardless of what your political affiliation is, takes an oath to protect and uphold the Constitution of both the United States and the State of Colorado against enemies foreign and domestic and so forth, so I am going to do that. I’m about building relationships with the community and building relationships with other law enforcement agencies, including our Federal partners, the FBI, ATF, and all of those other agencies because they have different abilities than we do, but I’m not going to let them trample on people’s Constitutional rights.

NORTH FORTY: Can you talk about experiences gained and/or lessons learned from your time spent with the Larimer County Sheriff’s office that you feel make you the ideal candidate for this position?

JOHN FEYEN: I’ve learned a lot within my positions, having municipal law enforcement experience and working here with Fort Collins, because it’s all been different policing, but it’s all about keeping people safe and keeping people engaged; the community engagement that we try to do in Fort Collins with interaction, I’ve learned a lot from that, and I hope to carry that forward[…]I really want to change the pathway where if we’re going to be part of the solution of society’s problems then we need to be at your children’s kickball games, we need to be at your homeowner’s association meetings, we need to be at your town trustee meetings, we need to be in your community and part of your community and get beyond the uniform so that we have a relationship before we need to have a relationship because, in crisis, that’s not the time to form that.

NORTH FORTY: Any specific message you’d like to give the community?

JOHN FEYEN: If people have questions, the truth fears no questions and I know that sounds kind of glib but it’s true; I’m not a politician and I don’t mean to denigrate the profession of politics because that’s an important role, but if you have a question and you’re willing to constructively engage in hard conversations, let’s do that. That’s where the work in law enforcement is in the next twenty years, it’s in actually engaging in conversations.

North Forty has reached out to the other candidate running for Larimer County Sheriff, Jeff Fisher, and we hope to bring you that interview in an upcoming edition.  In the meantime, if you have any questions for John Feyen or would like to get to know more about his campaign, you’re encouraged to reach out by email at [email protected] or by phone at 970-281-5721 and visit his website at FeyenForSheriff.com.