When Glenwood Springs Police Sgt. Michael Young signed off for the final time Monday, he was not just ending a career in law enforcement. He was closing a chapter in the same town that raised him.

Young, a Glenwood Springs native, retired Monday after 32 years of service in law enforcement, most of it spent with the Glenwood Springs Police Department. A Glenwood Springs High School graduate and former football player, Young built a career protecting the same community where he grew up.

Glenwood Springs City Council recognized Young with a proclamation Thursday before his retirement. On Monday, officers gathered for a short departure ceremony that included a large flag displayed by fire engines, a final radio sign-off and officers standing in formal formation.

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For Young, the road to law enforcement started almost by accident.

After graduating from college in May 1993, he had planned to join the Coast Guard. He came home to Glenwood Springs, told his older brother what he intended to do and was quickly redirected.

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“I said, ‘I’m gonna go join the Coast Guard,’ and he’s like, ‘Nope, I’m gonna put you in the police academy in Spring Valley. I’ll pay for it,'” Young said. “So I said, ‘Sounds good.’ That’s how it took off.”

Young attended Western State College for two years before transferring to the University of Northern Colorado, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology with an emphasis in criminal justice and a minor in psychology. Law enforcement fit his education, even if it had not been his plan.

“I was thinking that way, but I just had no plans after college,” Young said. “I thought I’d maybe go into the military for four years, but my brother told me that’s a dumb idea and paid for my academy.”

By the next Monday, Young was in the police academy.

He began as a reserve officer in Glenwood Springs in August 1993 before being hired by the Fruita Police Department in 1994. He worked there until November of that year, when Glenwood Springs called him home with what he joked was an “awesome” raise.

“I started out making $8 an hour in Fruita, and I came here for $11 an hour,” Young said.

The decision turned into a three-decade career.

Young said the job kept him because it never stayed the same. Every shift brought something different. Some days, it meant helping someone through a crisis. Other days, it meant taking dangerous people off the street.

“I love the job. I’ve always enjoyed it,” Young said. “There’s something new. You get to help people, you get to get the bad people off the street.”

But police work also brought Young close to moments most people spend their lives hoping never to see.

“You get to see the dark side of the world that no one gets to see,” Young said. “You have to do CPR on people, you have to help zip up body bags in the corner, you have to see people see their loved ones who are no longer with us.”

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Those moments did not harden him, he said. They gave him perspective.

“The biggest thing is don’t sweat the small stuff,” Young said. “You have no idea what trauma people have gone through.”

After decades of answering calls on people’s worst days, Young said the job taught him to look at others differently.

“It really teaches you to kind of look at people and go, ‘They’re having a bad day for whatever reason,’ because you don’t know what people are going through until you do this job,” Young said.

Through the difficult calls, Young said the good days always outweighed the bad, especially in Glenwood Springs.

“It’s a great job, it’s a great career, especially in this valley,” Young said. “We have our problems, but for the most part, it’s great. The backing of the people here in the valley has been outstanding over all the years.”

Young said he felt supported not only by residents, but also by city leaders throughout his career.

“I’ve never had a council that was against us,” he said. “They were all pro-law enforcement, wanted us to succeed and be the best we could.”

During his years with the Glenwood Springs Police Department, Young was part of major cases that tested the department’s training and response, including the 2022 Glenwood Springs shooting case involving Craig Robbins. He also recalled the 2005 arrest of Brent J. Brents, who was wanted in connection with a series of violent attacks in the Denver area before he was taken into custody in Glenwood Springs.

“My motto has always been, ‘That’s our job, it’s what we do,'” Young said. “That’s what we’re trained to do, is to do the job and do it right, and protect the people here.”

Young said high-profile calls are rare, which is a good thing. But when they happen, they show whether the preparation was worth it.

“When it does happen, I think we’re well-trained here, and we’re always ready for stuff like that,” Young said. “It makes you feel good when you get those calls and you realize that training that you’ve done was worth it.”

Even as Young leaves the department, the family connection continues. His daughter, Courtnay, is a patrol corporal with the Glenwood Springs Police Department.

“That means a lot,” Young said. “She paid attention growing up.”

Young said he encouraged his daughter to pursue a career with stability, benefits and purpose. She originally considered crime scene investigation, but after graduating during the COVID-19 pandemic, when opportunities in that field were limited, she went through the police academy in 2020. She later worked in Basalt before joining the Glenwood Springs department.

“I think she likes it,” Young said. “She seems to be enjoying it. She has my attitude, so it works well for her.”

In retirement, Young plans to stay in the valley and spend more time with his wife, who is also retired, along with his daughters and grandchildren. Another grandchild is on the way.

“Just spend time and live a little bit while I still can walk,” Young said.

He also plans to spend more time hunting, fishing and exploring the outdoors around Glenwood Springs, the same place where he learned those traditions from his father.

“We do a lot of hunting and fishing,” Young said. “That’s what I grew up here in the valley, and that’s what my dad taught me.”

Young said he does not expect retirement to become boring. After years of raising two daughters, working long shifts and building a life around service, he and his wife are ready for a different pace.

“There’s a lot of places to explore,” Young said. “We raised two daughters and now grandkids, so we spent a lot of time working in the last 30-some years. We’re gonna go out and I think we’re gonna enjoy it and have fun.”

For 32 years, Young’s work was rooted in the place he knew best. He patrolled the town where he grew up, served people who knew his name and raised a daughter who followed him into the same department.

Now, after one final sign-off, he is stepping away from the radio, but not from Glenwood Springs.

“I can’t imagine being anywhere else. We will absolutely stay in the valley,” Young said.