About

Darel Reed is part of a family that has been native to Delta County for over 5 generations. He was born and raised in Delta, Colorado.  Darel attended Delta High School until his senior year, when he transferred to Thornton, Colorado, to finish his high school diploma while attending the Colorado Aero Tech Avionics program. While attending, Darel was hired at Colorado Aero Tech as an assistant instructor. Darel eventually went on to attend and finish more schooling at Colorado State University in Farrier Science. Darel became a farrier and moved back to the western slope, eventually landing in Fruita, Colorado, where he spent 10 years as a farrier.

During Darel's time as a farrier, he continued his education, attending Colorado Mesa University for biology studies. Because of the tragic events of 9/11/01, he felt strongly about wanting to become part of an organization that would help others. As a result, he was compelled to take a break from his college courses and attend the Law Enforcement Academy at Delta's VOTEC, now known as Technical College of the Rockies. Because of Darel's leadership, communication, and transparency qualities, Darel was unanimously voted in as the president of his class.

Once Darel finished training, he was hired by Sheriff Bill Blair of the Delta County Sheriff’s Department as a patrol Deputy. Darel spent 3 years as a Deputy before he was recruited to work for the Colorado State Patrol. Darel attended the Colorado State Patrol Academy and was stationed in Fruita, Colorado.

After 2 years, Darel was able to transfer back to Delta. At this time, he chose to settle permanently in Delta and raise his family. After working as a Delta Trooper for close to 2 years, Darel was accepted into the Colorado State Patrol Vehicular Crimes Unit as an investigator for the entire Southwest corner of Colorado. Darel spent 15 years investigating high-profile crashes, including serious bodily injury crashes and fatal crashes that resulted in felony charges. Darel always stated that the fatal crashes allowed him to be the voice of the victims for the families that had tragically lost their loved ones.

In 2024, Darel decided to step down for his last year and work as a Delta Trooper before retiring. This allowed Darel to put his finger on the pulse of Delta County, as it pertained to the criminal activity, traffic incidents, and relationships between the various law enforcement agencies within Delta County.