Saying that years of police misconduct have undermined public trust, Commerce City officials are asking the Department of Justice to review its long-embattled police department.

In a letter City Council approved July 18 to the office of Community Oriented Policing Services in the Department of Justice, city officials say that while some reforms have shown success, officer misconduct is threatening progress.

“Serious internal issues and officer misconduct have been all too prevalent in the department over a prolonged period of time,” the letter states. “For example, within the last six months two police officers were criminally charged for their actions while on duty. In other cases officers have chosen to resign during the internal affairs investigative process after having been found to have engaged in conduct that likely would have resulted in termination.”

The officers criminally charged include Kevin Lord, who pleaded guilty to evidence tampering after making a false report that he had been shot, and John Reinhart, who is facing three misdemeanor counts of unlawful sexual contact.

Lord made up a story, saying that he had engaged in a shooting with the driver of a truck he had pulled over. Investigators were actively searching for a suspect, and offering a $20,000 reward, for a man fitting the description Lord provided.

Lord was ordered to a mental health evaluation as part of his sentencing.

The investigation of Reinhart began after a woman claimed he illegally touched her during a traffic stop. Officials later found two other women with a similar complaint.

Reinhart is scheduled for a disposition hearing Thursday.

Both officers resigned, but the incidents have “undermined the trust of the community and negatively impacted the credibility of the department,” the letter states.

The COPS office, where the letter is addressed, provides grants, training and reform assistance through policy suggestions, research and targeted reviews for departments trying to improve the relationships with their community. The “Collaborative Reform Initiative for Technical Assistance” is a voluntary process where departments have to request a review. In October, the office completed a review for the St. Louis County Police Department in Missouri providing 109 recommendations. That department requested the audit of its practices after the August 2014 shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., sparked unrest and lead to a federal review of the incident.

Commerce City officials didn’t specify in their letter what type of assistance they’re seeking, but spokeswoman Jodi Hardee said the city wants a department review.

“We are asking the DOJ to conduct a comprehensive organizational assessment to provide findings and best practice recommendations,” Hardee said. “Our end goal in trying to work with the DOJ is that we want our citizens to be safe and that’s deliberate work. We want them to help us establish a sustainable police force.”

Andrea Borrego, an assistant professor of criminal justice at Metropolitan State University of Denver, said all Department of Justice reviews are rare.

“It’s good that they took the step of accountability. A lot of times the DOJ will come in after a certain amount of complaints,” Borrego said. She added, “having an outside third party is always the best way to really investigate and see what’s going on.”

The COPS office website states it is working with many police departments.

Justin Nix, assistant professor of criminal justice at the University of Louisville, said the reviews through the COPS office might be increasing, and said he hopes they become common.

“It’s a good step to take to build some trust with the community,” Nix said. “Trust is at a low right now, and agencies are recognizing that communities might not be OK with an internal investigation over that external oversight.”

Commerce City’s police department has been in turmoil for years.

In 2011, the department’s police union presented a report to the city alleging serious officer misconduct, mismanagement and coverups. An investigator was brought in to review the allegations, but officers questioned the impartiality of the investigator after learning he also worked for the city’s insurer, who would have to pay if any discovered wrongdoing led to lawsuits.

The city has settled two lawsuits involving the police in the last three years, including one from an officer making claims about bias for his military service.

Last year officers gave police Chief Troy Smith a vote of no-confidence, and earlier this year the city moved him from the post, putting him into an interim deputy city manager position after a little more than three years leading the department.

Smith helped get body cameras for police officers and got a citizen advisory committee approved in his last reform moves as chief. The launch of the committee has been delayed because the city initially had trouble finding interested applicants.

Hardee said the city manager plans to decide in October whether to launch a hiring process for a new chief, make the interim appointment Lowell Richardson permanent, or to shuffle roles again.

“We don’t know who is going to stay or go,” Hardee said.