When Diversity Thrives in Rural Colorado, Police Face Same Obstacles as Big Cities

On a summer evening, police Sgt. Anthony Gagliano patrols the long, open streets of Fort Morgan, Colorado. He’s lived here for the last 16 years, almost as long as he’s been on the force. There’s one thing he knows sets apart this rural city of about 11,000: the diversity.

“You have the Ethiopians, you have the Somalians, you have the Congo. Some are speaking French some are speaking (…) I guess I don’t even know all the different languages,” he said.

According to Eric Ishiwata, a professor in the ethnic studies department at Colorado State University, the town’s population was predominantly white in the 1970s. By the early 2000s the demographics began changing as more Latino and foreign-born residents came to the area. The town’s largest employer, the beef plant Cargill, attracts workers from across the U.S., many of whom are immigrants and refugees.

Today it’s one of the most diverse places in Colorado and according to Ishiwata a “majority minority” city....

Like many departments across the country, Fort Morgan has a goal to diversify its officers. So far Schultz has hired two more female officers and three officers fluent in Spanish — a first for the department. As a long-term goal, he’d like to hire what may be the first Somali officer in Colorado....