EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. — The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office has announced that complaints of harassment and discrimination from the Wildland Team are being investigated by the County Attorney’s office under attorney guidance, as with all Sheriff’s office personnel.

Currently, the team is comprised of four paid employees and 15 volunteers. All investigative records compiled by the County Attorney’s Office must be denied as they are subject to confidential attorney/client and/or work-product privilege.

The office says is unable to comment on the investigation specifics at this time, but says that it has instituted a number of changes within the Wildland Fire Team with a broader assessment of the team’s operations.

The office says that some volunteers submitted resignations for a variety of reasons. Volunteer firefighters are considered employees under certain Colorado statutes, such as C.R.S. § 8-40-202(a)(I)(A), so these letters will not be released according to C.R.S. § 24-72-204(3)(a)(II) because they are maintained as part of the employer/employee relationship in their personnel files, and because the volunteers have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their letters.